Young's Hometown Heroics
Cole Young's Go-Ahead Homer Lifts Mariners Over Pirates 3-2, Extending AL West Lead.
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Key Points
1
Cole Young’s go-ahead two-run homer came in his first major league game in his hometown of Pittsburgh, sending the ball 381 feet off Mitch Keller with an exit velocity around 100.9 mph and a sweeper that landed in right field.
2
Cal Raleigh’s fourth-inning solo homer ended a long drought (64 plate appearances) without a homer, marking his eighth of the season and coming after his return from an oblique strain.
3
George Kirby earned the win, snapping a five-game losing streak and getting his first win since May 11 as he worked six innings allowing two runs (one earned).
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Mitch Keller took the loss, delivering six-plus innings with three runs on seven hits and four strikeouts, and he remained winless in his last five starts.
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Randy Arozarena returned from the injured list for Seattle but went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Pittsburgh native Cole Young hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning to lift the Seattle Mariners past the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 at PNC Park on Tuesday night. The 22-year-old second baseman crushed a 381-foot shot off Mitch Keller at 100.9 mph, flipping a 2-0 deficit into a Mariners lead in front of his family and friends. FOX 13 Seattle reported the win keeps Seattle in first place in the AL West at 41-39.
Young, a North Allegheny High School alum from Wexford, PA, was playing his first MLB game at PNC Park. "It was like a super surreal feeling rounding the bases," he said, per TribLIVE. Andrés Muñoz struck out the side in the ninth to lock down his 14th save of the season.
Young's Homecoming Blast Flips a 2-0 Deficit
The Pirates built an early 2-0 lead. In the second inning, Marcell Ozuna drove in a run with a single off George Kirby. In the third, a J.P. Crawford throwing error at third base let another run score, per The Olympian. Seattle had dug itself a hole before the game was two innings old.
Seattle chipped away in the fourth when Cal Raleigh hit a solo homer to right-center, his first in 64 plate appearances after returning from an oblique strain. Then in the seventh, Luke Raley doubled and Young followed with the decisive blow — a two-run shot on a 1-0 sweeper from Keller that landed in the right-field bleachers, per Bellingham Herald.
A Moment Young Had Dreamed About Since Childhood
Young was a 10-year-old sitting in PNC Park's stands during the famous 2013 NL Wild Card game. Now he was hitting the biggest shot of his young career in the same ballpark, per TribLIVE. A group of about 25 family members and friends — including his parents and high school coach Andrew Heck — sat behind the first-base dugout.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson kept it simple. "Those are the seats he used to sit in," Wilson said. "That's got to be pretty cool," per Tri-City Herald. Young was Seattle's 21st overall pick in the 2022 draft. He signed for $3.3 million and has posted a 2.2 WAR this season.
Kirby Snaps a Five-Game Skid, Keller Takes Another Tough Loss
George Kirby earned his first win since May 11, going six innings and allowing two runs — only one earned. He had lost five straight decisions and gone eight starts without a win. FOX 13 Seattle noted the win was a mental boost for a Mariners rotation that had been plagued by "one bad inning" stretches all June.
Mitch Keller delivered six-plus innings with seven hits and four strikeouts but fell to 5-5. His June ERA now sits at 7.71, and he has not won in his last five starts. "Just a couple pitches I would want back, obviously... Just not enough," Keller said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Arozarena Returns but Seattle's Youth Steals the Night
Randy Arozarena was reinstated from the 10-day injured list before the game after missing time with a hamstring strain. To make room, Connor Joe was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. But Arozarena went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his return, per Tri-City Herald. The night clearly belonged to someone else.
The Pirates remain at 39-40, still chasing their first playoff berth in over a decade. Seattle heads into the All-Star break stretch holding first place in the AL West. Young's seven homers and his 2.2 WAR have made him the face of a Mariners team trying to end its own long postseason wait, per FOX 13 Seattle.
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