SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JUNE 20: Shed Long Jr. #4 celebrates with Taylor Trammell #20 of the Seattle Mariners after his game winning grand slam against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 20, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Mariners beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 in extra innings. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
The Mariners just recorded a four-game sweep over the Tampa Bay Rays, with Shed Long Jr. closing things out with an absolute bang.
What a week it has been for the Seattle Mariners. The club, who hasn’t been to the postseason since 2001, is trying to get themselves back in the AL West race. Well, a four-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays has done just that.
On Sunday, Seattle was tied 2-2 with Tampa Bay in the bottom of the ninth inning. Shed Long Jr. stepped up to the dish and was hoping to try and record a base hit to give his team a 3-2 win. He did much more than that.
Shed Long Jr. smashed a walk-off Grand Slam for the Seattle Mariners
And the fans at T-Mobile Park go absolutely nuts. Long got a ball in a dangerous spot and he made the Rays pay for it. Again, this game was tied at 2-2 and there were also two outs. Long was ready to go home, though, and belted his dinger to right field.
For Seattle, they’re now 38-36 on the year and 6.5 games back of the Astros and Athletics at the top of the division standings. The Mariners haven’t been to the playoffs in 20 years. They’re hoping this can finally be the season where things change.
Trust us when we say the fans are hoping for that as well. This blast on Sunday was Long’s first of the year, as he’s hitting .244 with 10 RBI as well. He saved the best time possible for homer No. 1 of the spring. We’ll see if this starts a hot streak for him at the dish.
More importantly for Seattle, these four consecutive wins couldn’t have come at a better time. Next up is a series with the Rockies.