Eduard Bazardo gives up walkoff homer in 10th to ex-Mariner, A's rally for win

Adam Jude, The Seattle Times on Sep 12, 2026

Published in Baseball

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WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two things we’ve learned about Lazaro Montes in his first two weeks in the big leagues:

The unabashed joy with which he plays is real and it’s authentic.

The power absolutely is, too.

Both elements have been in short supply for the underperforming Seattle Mariners, and both were on display again Friday night from the 21-year-old Cuban slugger, who stepped to the plate for his first at-bat in the sixth inning and clobbered a game-tying, two-run home run against Athletics right-handed reliever Scott Blewett.

Ultimately, Montes’ latest heroics weren’t enough.

Donovan Walton, the former Seattle Mariner, belted a walkoff, two-run home run off Eduard Bazardo in the bottom of the 10th inning, sending the Athletics to a 6-5 victory to stun the Mariners.

Julio Rodriguez had given the M’s a 5-4 lead with two outs in the top of the 10th inning when he singled up the middle, past two diving infielders, to drive in automatic runner Randy Arozarena.

Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz was apparently unavailable.

The M’s are 69-79.

As a September call-up, the 6-foot-5 Montes is getting his first taste of the major leagues at a time when the Mariners have seen their playoff chances nearly bottom out.

He’s mashing baseballs out of the ballpark, yes. That’s always fun for everyone.

More than that, Montes is making a difference, offering a light — and levity — in what has been a most challenging season for a Mariners with outsized expectations.

Montes, at least, gives a reason to think those expectations perhaps be within reach next season.

Question now is, will he get some regular at-bats against left-handed pitching?

What else do the Mariners have to lose over the final 14 games?

Montes has three homers and eight RBI in his first 23 at-bats, and all three have been monster blasts. His first one came at Boston’s Fenway Park in his MLB debut on Sept. 1, a straightaway blast to center field.

On Tuesday, he hit the longest home run on record in T-Mobile Park, projected at 474 feet.

And on Friday, his homer was measured at 110.3 mph off the bat with a distance of 430 feet out to the right-field berm at Sutter Health Park.

Before his big-league promotion, Montes was just here a few weeks ago with the Tacoma Rainiers — and he homered in back-to-back games.

Mariners starter George Kirby managed to complete six full innings despite giving up four runs in the first three innings, putting the M’s in an early 4-2 hole.

Kirby has allowed 20 earned runs over 19 innings in his last four road starts, and it was much the same story Friday night — too many hittable pitches over the heart of the plate.

Lawrence Butler, on a 3-2 pitch, turned on a low-and-in splitter for a two-run homer in the third inning for the A’s biggest blow of the night.

Kirby was solid after that, posting three scoreless innings to get through six in the most hitter-friendly park in MLB.

On his 101st pitch, struck out Henry Bolte on a 3-2 fastball and Cal Raleigh caught Carlos Cortes stealing second for a strike-‘em-out, throw-‘em-out finish to the sixth.

Jeffrey Springs, the A’s veteran lefty, held the Mariners to two runs over five innings, though the M’s did drive up Springs’ pitch count and got into the A’s bullpen in the sixth.

Springs had held the M’s to just two hits over seven shutout innings last Saturday in Seattle, one of the Mariners’ most dispiriting performances of the year.