Seattle Mariners designated hitter Dominic Canzone (8) celebrates with shortstop J.P. Crawford (3) after hitting a grand slam during the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images” />
In an era defined by pitch clocks and quick pace, Dominic Canzone waited over 90 seconds before stepping to the plate in the fourth inning Tuesday night. After J.P. Crawford drew a four-pitch walk, the bases were loaded with no outs, and Astros starter Tatsuya Imai looked shaky, struggling to find the strike zone. Houston pitching coach Josh Miller made a mound visit, likely to buy time for the bullpen to warm up. When the visit ended, Imai exchanged words with home plate umpire Jim Wolf, seemingly about his difficulty pitching from the stretch with the bases full. But the delay proved irrelevant.
The first pitch Canzone saw was an 87 mph hanging slider right down the middle. He crushed it 105.5 mph off the bat into the right-field seats for a grand slam—his first career grand slam—giving the Mariners a 6-2 lead they never relinquished. The blast was so powerful it shamed the projectiles NASA controls from another part of town.
Before that fateful pitch, Imai’s night had been better than his last outing against Seattle, though that wasn’t saying much. On April 10 at T-Mobile Park, he retired just one batter and walked four before being pulled after allowing three runs on 37 pitches. He then spent a month on the injured list with arm fatigue before returning for this start.
The only damage Imai allowed before Canzone’s spicy meatball was a two-run homer to left by Randy Arozarena. Arozarena had an incredible night, going 4-for-4 and missing the cycle by a triple. He also started the fourth-inning rally by getting hit by a pitch immediately after a successful ABS challenge overturned a would-be strikeout.
Seattle starter Bryan Woo wasn’t at his sharpest, but his line was enough. As Woo said postgame, “it wasn’t six-shutty, but it’ll do.” He worked six innings, allowing two runs. The second run came after back-to-back walks to Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez in the third, tying the game at 2-2. But after receiving ample run support, Woo cruised, striking out nine over a career-high 104 pitches. He relied more on his sinker and sweeper than usual but still generated 14 whiffs, half from his four-seam fastball.
Reliever Alex Hoppe pitched two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, retiring all six batters in order. The Mariners gave their bullpen, missing key arms like Gabe Speier, Matt Brash, and José Ferrer, some much-needed rest.
Just when it seemed the night couldn’t get better, Cal Raleigh ended his 0-for-38 slump with a single to right-center in the seventh. His excitement was palpable. He added another single in the ninth, finishing 2-for-4 with three runs scored. He also reached on a walk in the second and scored on Arozarena’s homer.
As a cherry on top, a low-leverage ninth inning allowed right-hander Domingo González to make his major league debut while Ferrer remains on paternity leave. González got through the frame unscathed despite allowing two baserunners, closing out a 10-2 win. It was Seattle’s ninth consecutive victory over the Astros, dating back to last September.
The Mariners return to Daikin Park in Houston tomorrow night, looking to secure a series win in the third game of the four-game set.
