The Seattle Mariners erased a 10-run deficit by scoring a combined 14 runs in the sixth and seventh innings to defeat the San Diego Padres 16-13 on Thursday at Petco Park in San Diego.
The comeback was the largest in the franchise’s 40-year history, per MLB Stat of the Day.
Seattle became the first team since the 2001 Cleveland Indians to win a game after trailing by 10 or more runs through five innings, per the Elias Sports Bureau (via StatsCentre). The Indians erased a 14-2 deficit to beat the Mariners, 15-14, on Aug. 5, 2001, in Cleveland.
On Thursday, the Padres erupted for seven runs at the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 12-2 lead. They chased starting pitcher Wade Miley out of the game after he surrendered nine earned runs in 4.2 innings.
Seattle closed the gap at the top of the sixth thanks to a two-run double by Kyle Seager and a three-run homer by Dae-Ho Lee.
With two outs in the seventh, the Mariners reeled off seven straight RBI singles. Two of them came from Seager and Lee. Shawn O’Malley gave Seattle the lead for good after a single up the middle brought home Chris Iannetta, and Franklin Gutierrez capped off the offensive onslaught with a two-run single to center field.
Meg Rowley of Baseball Prospectus documented Seattle’s entire seventh inning:
ESPN Stats & Info noted how sharp the Mariners were with runners in scoring position:
The Mariners reacted accordingly after the seventh-inning explosion:
With the victory, Seattle climbed back into a tie for first place in the American League West with the Texas Rangers. The Mariners, who have been one of the league’s biggest surprises so far this season, seem to have finally turned the corner and become contenders.
Seattle will be dangerous all year if its offense can be a fraction of what it was Thursday.
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