Julio Rodriguez and Colt Emerson homer, Dan Wilson ejected in Mariners win

Ryan Divish, The Seattle Times on Aug 6, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SEATTLE — On a night when the organization gave away a baseball trading card for an oddly shaped varmint with a weird name, the Mariners gave the 40,734 fans who showed up on Wednesday night something more to cheer about than the celebration of a famous raccoon.

There were a few things normal about the Mariners’ 4-2 victory over the Tigers. Bryan Woo delivered another strong outing at T-Mobile Park, which has been the norm this season. Seattle scored all of its runs via homers — a three-run blast from Julio Rodriguez that broke a 0-0 tie with two outs in the sixth inning and a solo homer from Colt Emerson in the bottom of the eighth that provided a key insurance run.

But in between those two deep blasts, things got a little unusual. In the seventh inning, Cal Raleigh was hit in the midsection by a wayward fastball from lefty Emmanuel De Jesus on a 1-2 count. Raleigh, who routinely takes a beating on foul tips and pitches in the dirt behind the plate, went down quickly but brushed off the training staff and went to first base.

With two outs in the top of the eighth inning, lefty Gabe Speier fired a first-pitch fastball inside that just missed hitting Gleyber Torres. The Tigers infielder turned and had some words for Raleigh, discussing what he thought was a purpose pitch. Speier’s second-pitch fastball did not, hitting Torres in his ample thigh. Torres immediately turned and had words for Raleigh. The conversation turned into a gathering at home as Dan Wilson and Tigers manager A.J. Hinch ran out to protect their players. The benches and bullpen emptied for a group meetup with mostly jawing and nothing else.

But after the umpires met concerting the hit by pitch, they decided to eject Speier, who walked off the mound without protest. But Wilson immediately ran on to the field to argue with the crew, believing a warning should’ve been issued. He was ejected.

That incident and ejection proved costly when Speier’s replacement, Eduard Bazardo, served up a two-run homer to Dillon Dingler that cut Seattle’s lead to 3-2.

With the game scoreless in the sixth, Tigers right-hander Brenan Hanifee was brought in to face Randy Arozarena, who promptly doubled to left. It snapped a frustrating drought of 16-plus innings without an extra-base hit for the Mariners.

It represented Seattle’s best chance to score its first run of the series.

With first base open, the Tigers opted to walk the left-handed hitting Dom Canzone, who was waiting to hit, and take their chances with Rodriguez.

The strategy was logical in many ways … until it wasn’t.

Rodriguez made the Tigers and Hinch pay for the decision, ambushing a first-pitch sinker from Hanifee and sending the pitch over the wall in right field for a 3-0 lead.

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