As the 2001 Seattle Mariners know, no lead is safe. The 2016 version of that team revisited that lesson last night against the Padres, but ended up on the better side of it with the biggest comeback of the MLB season.
San Diego lost a 10-run lead within two innings in a game with 29 total runs. The four-game series was misery for both clubs’ pitching; every game had at least 12 total runs scored. This was a new level, however.
The opener for the Mariners’ comeback came in the sixth, with San Diego ahead 12-2 after wrecking Seattle starter Wade Miley. After Kyle Seager hit a two-RBI double and chased starter Colin Rea out of the game, Brad Hand came in for relief and immediately gave up a three-run homer to pinch-hitter Dae-ho Lee. (Hand was only responsible for one of those runs.) San Diego’s lead was cut in half with two swings.
The seventh inning was the main event. The Padres needed three pitchers to get three outs. One of them, Brandon Maurer, didn’t even record an out. Ryan Buchter did most of the work as he loaded the bases. There’s too much to get through, so here’s the play-by-play. Seattle scored all nine runs with two outs:
For those who prefer visuals, here’s a compilation of Padres pitchers throwing and turning around a lot (mobile users can watch here):
The Padres could only score one more run in the final four innings as they lost. Team executive chairman Ron Fowler might have jumped the gun when he called out the Padres on a radio station for their dreadful play on Wednesday. This was so much worse.
“It’s borderline inexplicable,” Padres skipper Andy Green said. “I’ve been around baseball a long time. You don’t see teams come back from 10.” He’s right. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Mariners’ win was the 21st time in MLB history that a club had overcome a double-digit deficit and won.