Rob Refsnyder’s first career pinch-hit home run pushes Mariners past Cardinals, 3-2
· Yahoo Sports
Offense was thin on the ground for the Mariners in their series finale against the Cardinals, but once again the bats were able to produce just enough for a 3-2 win, neatly bookending the 3-2 win from the series opener with a wild, potentially season-altering one sandwiched in between. As Victor Robles would say: sorry ‘bout it, that’s a sweep.
As was the case in the series opener, the starting pitching and bullpen teamed up to hold down the Cardinals offense, although it took Emerson Hancock an inning or so to lock in. After getting a first pitch flyout, Hancock labored through the rest of the first inning, falling behind hitters and giving up some hard contact on the ground and in the air, as well as walking Jordan Walker in a 3-1 count. But Hancock escaped without damage, able to bail himself out of trouble with an inning-ending strikeout on the changeup. Hancock used his changeup heavily today as well as his cutter, backing off the sweeper, which seemed difficult for him to harness. A shot on the broadcast of Hancock being tended to for the team trainer for a blister or torn fingernail might explain that.
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Hancock’s stuff might have been too crafty for the Cardinals hitters, as they BABIP’d him to death with a bunch of little low exit-velocity hits. Behold this curséd image:
However, the only damage the Cardinals hitters were able to make out of that was off a solo home run from JJ Wetherholt, who tattooed a Hancock sinker at the top of the zone over the right field fence. Said fence now bears an outline of Luke Raley, who made a heroic yet unsuccessful attempt at the kind of home run robbery that has tortured the Mariners so far this season:
Ahhh you’ll get ‘em next time, Luke.
Meanwhile, the Mariners also struggled to get their hits to add up to anything off Cardinals starter Michael McGreevey, who completed six innings with a season-high six strikeouts. The only damage he allowed was a solo home run to Cal Raleigh, making the curious choice to serve Cal a changeup, a pitch he slugged .500 on last season. Thank you, I guess?
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The Cardinals would go ahead in the sixth on a home run from the very annoying Nathan Church, who got ahold of a Hancock changeup he was able to drop the barrel on and smoke (110.1 mph EV) for a solo homer. But that was all the damage against Hancock today, who gave the Mariners and their tired bullpen a solid six innings. It’s especially impressive considering Hancock was working without one of his best weapons in the sweeper, and a testament to his ability to limit damage by limiting the free passes he hands out; last year, Hancock walked 8.1% of the batters he faced; this year, that number so far this season is 3.8%. As long as he can keep batters off the bases ahead of those solo homers and keep the weak-contact hits from stacking by not making things worse for himself, that’s a very different Emerson Hancock from previous years – and one who pushes the Mariners into interesting decision-making territory when Bryce Miller is able to return.
After McGreevey was finally out of the game the Mariners were able to tie it up against Matt Svanson in the seventh. Connor Joe brought some of that BABIP luck back the Mariners’ way, poking a little hustle double into left field, and Cole Young brought in the tying run with a nice piece of two-strike hitting.
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This was especially nice for Young, who had been having a bit of a rough game offensively – he recorded the Mariners’ first hit of the day, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double, and then in his next at-bat, he struck out on three pitches in a largely noncompetitive at-bat, stranding a runner, and looking very frustrated with himself. Kudos to Young for shaking that off and coming up clutch, in addition to providing a steady hand at second base.
Also deserving kudos: the bullpen, which provided three scoreless innings between Gabe Speier, Eduard Bazardo, and José Ferrer, allowing no hits and not letting the Cardinals have any breathing room. Special kudos to Ferrer, who earned his first save as a Mariner, stepping in for Andrés Muñoz and not making the moment look too big for him.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals bullpen couldn’t do the same for their starter, save for former Mariner Ryne Stanek, who magically found pinpoint command and struck out all three hitters he faced. But the tax the Mariners offense put on the Cardinals bullpen showed up in the ninth, as the Cardinals turned again to lefty JoJo Romero, who had a 12-pitch outing yesterday. Romero wasn’t sharp, but somehow got ahead of pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder 0-2 thanks to a disastrous first-pitch strike call from home plate umpire John Bacon. Bacon went to punch out Refsnyder on a changeup that was even further outside than his first blown strike call and Refsnyder challenged immediately, turning a strikeout looking into a 1-2 count. Ref kept battling in the box, taking pitches that were well off the plate and fouling away the one that was close until he got a sweeper right in his happy zone that he crushed for a go-ahead homer.
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I wish this clip had the full broadcast video because it’s endearing for so many reasons: Justin “Champ” Novak the bullpen catcher, who catches the ball; Cooper Criswell popping up over the bullpen fence like a wacky waving inflatable arm man to celebrate; Refsnyder forgetting he’s supposed to take the trident; and how happy the whole dugout looks for him. Refsnyder, with his positivity, high baseball IQ, and leadership, has been a quick favorite among his peers, and you can really see how much he’s valued by his teammates by the warmth of his reception. Postgame, Refsnyder gave credit to all his teammates and especially called out Cole Young for his game-tying single while also calling him the best defender in baseball; he also said yesterday’s game felt like a special win for the team. Could this be the lightning moment this season has needed? The Mariners head to cold, rainy Minnesota tomorrow to find out.
Rob Refsnyder is the first @Mariners player with a leadoff home run AND a pinch-hit, go-ahead/game-tying HR in the 9th inning or later in the same season … and he’s done it as his first 2 home runs with Seattle. 🧹 #TheMayerGWS
— Alex Mayer (@alexmayer34) April 26, 2026