The Seattle Mariners are one win away from their first World Series appearance in franchise history — thanks in large part to Eugenio Suárez.
Suárez delivered one of the most memorable performances of his career in Game 5, crushing two home runs, including a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning that lifted the Mariners to a 6-2 victory. His first homer got Seattle on the board early, setting the tone for a pivotal night.
Right-hander Bryce Miller turned in another solid postseason start, allowing one run over four innings. Bryan Woo surrendered the other in two innings of relief, marking his first big-league action since Sept. 19.
Apart from them, Seattle’s dominant bullpen trio of Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz shut the door, combining for three scoreless innings to preserve the win.
For Suárez, the heroics were particularly sweet. The veteran third baseman has faced plenty of adversity since joining Seattle. In his first two seasons after being traded from Cincinnati, he led the American League in strikeouts. After a stint with Arizona earlier this season, he was traded back to the Mariners at the deadline — only to continue to struggle at the plate. In 53 games with Seattle since the trade, Suárez hit .189, nearly 60 points lower than his .248 average with the Diamondbacks.
But on this night, none of that mattered.
“I have a good amount of beautiful moments in my career, but today is something else,” Suárez said. “To hit that grand slam and help my team win a big game here in front of our fans — they’ve been waiting for a long time. I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole career.”
The Mariners will travel to Toronto for Game 6, looking to clinch the series and avoid a winner-take-all Game 7.