J.P. Crawford picked the perfect moment to break out of his slump.
The Mariners shortstop crushed a walk-off homer, the first of his career, to seal a dramatic 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night at T-Mobile Park. Facing a 2-0 count, Crawford jumped on a 95 mph fastball from Rangers closer Robert Garcia and sent it 370 feet into the right-field stands.
“Just don’t miss the fastball,” Crawford said postgame. “I put a good swing on it… and thankfully I didn’t miss.”
Crawford had been mired in a rough stretch, hitting just .109 (6-for-55) since the All-Star break and without a home run in 160 at-bats. But his timely blast delivered Seattle’s seventh walk-off win of the season and gave them sole possession of the final AL Wild Card spot. They now sit two games ahead of Texas and 3.
5 games behind Houston in the AL West.
