It hasn’t been a September to remember for the Seattle Mariners.
But rookie Lazaro Montes provided a glimpse of the future Tuesday night in a 10-5 loss to the visiting Texas Rangers.
Montes hit the longest home run by a Mariners player at T-Mobile Park in the Statcast era (since 2015), a 474-foot blast in the fourth inning. The three-run shot pulled the Mariners within a run before the Rangers responded with five runs in the top of the fifth to pull away.
The three-game series between American League West rivals will continue Wednesday afternoon in Seattle.
Montes, a 21-year-old recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Sept. 1, got a 94-mph fastball from Cal Quantrill in the middle of the plate and cleared the J-Rod Squad section in right-center field. The ball landed in the club seating between the first and second decks.
“The home run by Laz was spectacular,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “When you talk about home runs here at this ballpark, I don’t think I’ve seen one that far. Just a really good swing that got us right back in it.”
The only Mariner with a longer home run was Jarred Kelenic, who hit a 482-foot blast with the wind blowing out at Chicago’s Wrigley Field in 2023.
“When I hit it, I said, ‘Oh, man, this is far,'” Montes said. “Talking with the coaches about my approach. … I don’t want to miss, so just watch for the fastball and react to the breaking ball. Just be on time with the fastball.”
The defending AL West champion Mariners (67-78) dropped seven games behind first-place Houston in the division and 6 1/2 back in the wild-card chase, with four teams between them and Cleveland, which currently holds the third and final spot.
The Rangers on Tuesday got homers from Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford and Danny Jansen, and Quantrill pitched six quality innings to win for the fourth time in his past five starts.
“A lot of big moments,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “Nicky Lopez had a heck of a game, spot start, hasn’t played in a while, gets three hits, makes a big defensive play, but it starts with starting pitching. Cal again, amazing August, great September, start of September, and exactly what we needed to start a big series.”
The Rangers (72-73) won their second game in a row to remain two games behind Houston in the AL West and 1 1/2 behind the Guardians in the wild-card race.
Wednesday’s game time was moved up because the Seattle Seahawks are opening the NFL season against the New England Patriots across the street at Lumen Field in a Super Bowl rematch.
The second game in the Mariners-Rangers series will feature a pair of left-handers in the Rangers’ Cody Bradford (0-4, 4.45 ERA) against the Mariners’ Kade Anderson (0-1, 5.40).
Bradford has lost his past three starts, including 9-2 last Wednesday against the visiting Athletics in a game in which he allowed five runs on seven hits over four innings. He’s 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in one career relief appearance against Seattle.
Anderson suffered his first major league loss Thursday in a 7-4 decision against the visiting Athletics. He gave up four runs on seven hits over five innings.
Anderson will face the Rangers for the first time.
–Field Level Media
