SEATTLE (AP) — Jhonny Pereda hit his first MLB homer, Randy Arozarena also went deep and scored three runs, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4 Wednesday.
Pereda, who was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma last week when AL MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain, turned on a hanging breaking ball from White Sox lefty Sean Newcomb (0-1) in the seventh inning for a 392-foot homer into Seattle’s bullpen. The backup catcher went 136 at-bats before hitting his first big league homer.
Pereda made a stand out play in the field, too, tagging Chase Meidroth in a rundown in the sixth after the Chicago second baseman took too big of a lead off third base. Pereda made a strong throw to third base trying to pick off the runner while Cooper Criswell (2-1) was pitching.
Randy Arozarena, who scored two runs earlier in the game, put Seattle up for good with a two-run homer in the seventh off Jordan Hicks. The homer was Arozarena’s fifth of the season, and gave the Mariners a three-run lead.
Chicago never led, but twice evened the score on RBI singles off Mariners starter Emerson Hancock, who increased his run of starts with at least five innings pitched to 10 games. Andrew Benintendi delivered a two-out RBI single in the third, and Munetaka Murakami added another in the fifth.
The White Sox closed within a run in the ninth as Randal Grichuk led off the inning with his fourth homer of the season. But, that was as close as Chicago got before Jose A. Ferrer earned his third save.
Up next
Mariners RHP Logan Gilbert (2-4, 4.45 ERA) starts Friday night against Kansas City LHP Noah Cameron (2-3, 5.40).
White Sox RHP Davis Martin (6-1, 1.61 ERA) will start opposite Giants RHP Trevor McDonald (2-0, 2.37) in San Francisco on Friday night.
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Mariners’ Crawford open to moving from shortstop to 3rd base. Brash returns to bullpen
SEATTLE (AP) — J.P. Crawford was a late scratch from the Seattle Mariners’ lineup before Wednesday’s 5-4 win against the Chicago White Sox due to right triceps soreness, but the veteran shortstop had plenty of time postgame to discuss what transpired ahead of the victory.
Crawford fielded grounders at third base before the game. Crawford, who has played 895 games at shortstop during his Seattle tenure, said he recently had a conversation with manager Dan Wilson about changing positions after rookie Colt Emerson was promoted from Triple-A Tacoma.
“I want to be a Mariner for life, and I think that’s the best way to do it,” Crawford said of his potential position change. “And, just always being open to helping the team win.”
General manager Justin Hollander said Emerson would primarily see time at third base at the start of his major league career while Crawford played shortstop.
But, given that Crawford, who hasn’t played third base in a major league game since 2018 while he was with the Philadelphia Phillies, is receptive to changing positions, the 20-year-old Emerson could become Seattle’s everyday shortstop much quicker than was initially expected.
“J.P. is, like we’ve talked about, a selfless player,” Wilson said. “He’ll go wherever anybody needs him to go. And so, again, just like I said, it’s a chance to take a look at things over there and look at a different spot.”
Crawford, hitting .210 with six home runs and 16 RBIs in 42 games, said the idea of switching positions had been on his mind for a bit, and that he’d discussed it with his agent.
Crawford, 31, views it as his responsibility to pay forward the way he was mentored by former Mariners players like Kyle Seager and Dee Strange-Gordon. He promised himself to be like Seager and Strange-Gordon, and hopes to do the same for Emerson. It was Crawford who greeted Emerson before any other Seattle player after he hit his first career home run.
“There’s no better feeling than that, getting the first one out of the way, especially it being a homer,” Crawford said. “Just wanted to be there for him. We’re all on the same team, have the same goal, and that’s to win the World Series. And, the sooner he can get comfy here, the better.”
Brash is back
The Mariners reinstated right-handed reliever Matt Brash from the injured list ahead of Wednesday’s game and optioned left-hander Robinson Ortiz to Triple-A Tacoma.
Brash, 28, landed on the IL on May 1 with right lat inflammation. When healthy this season, Brash has been Seattle’s most reliable option out of the bullpen, going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 10 strikeouts and two walks in 12 1/3 innings.
“Obviously great to get Matty back,” Wilson said. “Big part of that back end bullpen, and someone who’s thrown a lot of high-leverage innings. So, it’s really good to get him back.”
In four seasons with Seattle, Brash has gone 16-11 with a 3.08 ERA, eight saves, 237 strikeouts and 82 walks in 185 games. He missed the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
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