SEATTLE — Jarrod Dyson needed every bit of his speed to get into scoring position. Guillermo Heredia’s clutch hit allowed Dyson a chance to jog home with winning run.
Heredia’s pinch-hit, two-out single in the ninth inning scored Dyson from second base to give the Seattle Mariners a 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.
Seattle’s bullpen squandered a 4-0 lead giving up three late home runs to the White Sox. But the Mariners were able to piece together a late rally that was highly reliant on Dyson’s speed and Heredia’s hit.
“A little bit of everything. That’s kind of what we need right now. Everybody has to chip in one way or another,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.
With one out in the ninth and Carlos Ruiz at the plate, Dyson took off from first on a 3-2 pitch from Dan Jennings. Ruiz hit a chopper to third but Dyson was able to beat the throw to second, though the relay was in plenty of time to get Ruiz for the second out.
Jean Segura, who extended his hitting streak to 17 games earlier with a three-run homer, was intentionally walked and Heredia batted for Ben Gamel.
Heredia was able to loop a slider from Jennings (2-1) into right-center field and Dyson easily scored the winning run. Heredia said he started warming up in the batting cage in the seventh inning waiting for his chance.
“That guy has been doing his job, toting us a little bit and I like to see it out there,” Dyson said of Heredia.
Segura’s three-run shot in the fifth inning tied him with Mike Trout for the longest hitting streak in baseball this season. Dyson also added a solo shot in the third inning, his second of the year.
Chicago rallied also thanks to the long ball. Matt Davidson hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Todd Frazier and Tim Anderson added back-to-back solo shots off Seattle reliever Dan Altavilla with two outs in the eighth to tie it.
Chicago lost for the 10th time in 12 games.
“They are tough loses but hopefully they are things that we are going to continue to get over,” Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. “We don’t want to continue to have these type of loses, but I think they battled back.”
Seattle reliever Nick Vincent (2-1) settled the shaky bullpen with a perfect ninth inning to get the victory.
Starting off
Notable for different reasons were the starts of Seattle’s Sam Gaviglio and Chicago’s Dylan Covey.
Gaviglio threw five shutout innings in his first major league start, allowing just three hits in becoming the 10th pitcher to start a game for Seattle this season.
Covey continued to struggle allowing the long ball. Covey has allowed 11 home runs in 35 1/3 innings pitched. The home run by Segura was the biggest blow to Covey’s outing, but the mistake was walking Carlos Ruiz — and his .125 batting average — with two outs on a 3-2 pitch after being ahead in the count. The walk brought Segura to the plate and he drove a slider over the hand-operated scoreboard in left field.
“If I could have an at-bat back that would be just it, and I would get right after him,” Covey said of walking Ruiz.
Trainer’s room
White Sox: CF Leury Garcia left the game in the bottom of the fifth inning with a bruised right elbow after getting hit by a pitch in the top half of the inning. … Top prospect Yoan Moncada was placed on the seven-day disabled list at Triple-A Charlotte because of a sore left thumb. Moncada has hit safely in 27 of 34 games this season in the minors.
Mariners: LHP James Paxton continues to be the closest of Seattle’s injured starters to returning. Paxton (forearm strain) threw a 25-pitch bullpen on Thursday — all fastballs — and will throw another on Sunday before likely going out on one rehab start in the minors. … LHP Drew Smyly (flexor strain) played catch on Wednesday at 60 feet, the first time he’s thrown in six weeks. Smyly has yet to pitch in the regular season and is in the beginning stages of a throwing program with the hopes of returning near midseason.
Up next
White Sox: LHP Jose Quintana (2-5) makes his ninth start. Chicago is averaging just 2.37 runs in Quintana’s starts.
Mariners: LHP Ariel Miranda (3-2) makes his ninth start of the season, but has not gotten a decision in his past two outings. Miranda allowed one run in five innings in his last start.
