Rob Refsnyder Wins a Challenge and Then Wins the Game With a Ninth-Inning Bomb

Rob Refsnyder did something Sunday in St. Louis that doesn't happen every day: he won an argument with the umpire, then backed it up with a go-ahead home run. The Mariners beat the Cardinals 3-2 on the back of that clutch swing, and suddenly Seattle is riding a four-game winning streak.

Here's how it went down. Refsnyder was down 0-2 when plate umpire John Bacon rang him up on a pitch that replay showed was clearly outside. Refsnyder challenged it. He won. After two more balls, he crushed a 412-foot blast into the left-field bullpen off JoJo Romero (who fell to 0-1) to give the Mariners their first lead of the game. That's the kind of at-bat that shifts momentum in April.

The Challenge Game Got Wild

Both teams were working John Bacon all day on ball-strike calls, but every successful challenge came on a Mariners plate appearance. That's right: four successful challenges total, and Seattle came out on top in those battles. The craziest part came in the eighth when J.P. Crawford had a strike overturned early in his at-bat, then Cardinals catcher Iván Herrera challenged and got ball four changed to strike three. Herrera also secured a strikeout against Randy Arozarena in the second with a successful challenge of his own. Even JJ Wetherholt took a shot with an unsuccessful challenge in the ninth.

St. Louis Kept It Close With Long Balls

The Cardinals weren't making this easy. Wetherholt led off the third with a 375-foot line drive into the right-field bullpen for his fifth home run of the season. Then Cal Raleigh answered back in the fourth with a 401-footer of his own, also into the Cardinals' bullpen. Nathan Church added a 407-foot bomb down the right-field line in the sixth to put St. Louis up 2-1.

Eduard Bazardo (1-1) picked up the win by getting four outs in relief. Jose Ferrer got the save, retiring the Cardinals in order in the ninth for his first of the season. Mariners starter Emerson Hancock went six innings and gave up seven hits including those two solo shots. He walked two and struck out four. The Cardinals' Michael McGreevy was solid too, allowing one run and five hits in six innings with six strikeouts and no walks.

Seattle heads to Minnesota on Monday to face the Twins with Luis Castillo (0-1, 5.01 ERA) taking the ball against LHP Connor Prielipp (0-0, 4.50). The Mariners are 14-15 and 4-8 on the road. Time to keep this streak rolling.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.