What can the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners possibly do for an encore?
The teams will go back at it Wednesday afternoon in Seattle on short rest after the Mariners pulled out a 1-0 victory Tuesday in a game that ended after 11:15 p.m. on the West Coast.
Pinch-hitter Luis Torrens lined a walk-off single on an 0-2 count into right field with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 13th inning to win it.
“Baseball is not a boring game. The electricity in our ballpark … the fans were awesome,” said Mariners manager Scott Servais, who isn’t usually given to hyperbole. “It was one of the best major-league games I’ve ever watched.”
Servais was asked if it was akin to a playoff atmosphere.
“I don’t know, we haven’t been to the postseason for a while,” he deadpanned in reference to the Mariners’ 21-year playoff drought, the longest current run in the four major North American sports. “But I’m assuming it would be like this and maybe a little bit better.
“Our fan base is starved for this type of baseball. We have a team that can provide it. We’re fun to watch. We can be frustrating to watch. I get all that as a fan and what it means to hang on the edge of your seat for every pitch. That’s what baseball is about, and our team embodies that.”
The pitching was masterful, from starters Gerrit Cole and Luis Castillo through the bullpens.
Cole, who allowed six runs in the first inning of a loss to the Mariners last week in New York, went seven scoreless innings and allowed four hits on Tuesday. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight.
Castillo, making his home debut after being acquired from Cincinnati before the trade deadline for three of the Mariners’ top five prospects, lasted eight innings and gave up three hits. He walked two and struck out seven.
Four Mariners relievers combined for five hitless innings.
Both teams were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position through 12 innings.
“Both sides, obviously, pitched really well. The defense on both sides was really, really good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Crappy way to end the night, you know, especially when we did so many things well, obviously on the pitching front and on the defensive front, but you got to find a way.”
Left-handers Nestor Cortes (9-3, 2.57 ERA) of the Yankees and Robbie Ray (8-8, 3.96) of the Mariners will try to keep that pitching trend going on Wednesday.
Cortes is 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against Seattle; Ray is 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA in five appearances — all starts — vs. New York.
Both teams made roster moves Tuesday, and more are expected Wednesday.
New York put Matt Carpenter on the 10-day injured list after he broke his left foot in Monday’s victory over Seattle and recalled Miguel Andújar from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Mariners recalled Brendan Bernardino from Triple-A Tacoma and placed fellow left-hander Ryan Borucki on the IL with a strained forearm.
The Mariners are expected to activate infielder/outfielder Dylan Moore (back) and reliever Diego Castillo (shoulder) before the series finale on Wednesday, but rookie All-Star Julio Rodriguez (wrist) will likely stay out until Friday, at least.
