Cole Young's Clutch Triple Breaks the Ice as Mariners Steal One in Anaheim

The Angels thought they had the matchup figured out. Lefty reliever Brent Suter coming in to face Seattle's stacked left-handed lineup in the 10th inning. Makes sense on paper, right? Except Cole Young didn't get the memo. Young's leadoff triple to right field off Suter scored automatic runner Luke Raley from second and snapped a scoreless tie, setting up Josh Naylor's two-run single moments later as the Mariners walked away with a 3-1 victory over Los Angeles in Anaheim.

Young's Simple Mission Turned into Extra-Inning Magic

When Young stepped into the box to start the 10th, he wasn't swinging for the fences. His assignment was straightforward: get Raley to third. "Obviously, every time in that situation, you want to get the runner over," Young said. "That was my whole approach in that at-bat, just hit the ball to the right side, get the runner over."

Instead of a productive out, Young yanked an 86-mph sinker on an inside corner into right field. The line drive had topspin but the Anaheim wind knocked it down just enough that right fielder Jo Adell couldn't reach it as he crashed into the short wall. The ball kicked back toward center, and Raley trotted home. "It was super windy," Young said. "I was happy either way, when I hit it, because I knew he would get either get to third or score. I didn't think it was going to go out."

This is who Young has been early in the season. Nine hits in eight games, including doubles, a triple, two homers and five RBI. He's delivered in his last seven straight games and shows up when the pressure is highest. Manager Dan Wilson loves how Young keeps his composure in the moment. "The one thing we've talked about with Cole is the game doesn't speed up on him," Wilson said. "He's been able to kind of keep that consistent pace to his game, and that plays extremely important in those kind of situations."

Naylor Puts It Away Despite Angels' Desperation Move

After Young reached third, Angels manager Kurt Suzuki made a questionable call: intentionally walk Julio Rodríguez to set up a left-on-left matchup with Suter facing Josh Naylor. The strategy blew up instantly. Rodríguez hustled to second on a ball in the dirt, and Naylor ripped a line drive into right-center for a two-run single that made it 3-0. The sellout crowd of 44,931 started heading for the exits.

Lights-Out Pitching Shuts Down the Angels

The Mariners' arms did the heavy lifting. Starter Bryan Woo was brilliant, and relievers Matt Brash, Andres Muñoz, and Gabe Speier combined for flawless work. Seattle held the Angels to one hit for the entire game. With Mike Trout as the automatic runner at second in the 10th, Speier got Nolan Schanuel to ground out, saw Trout score on Jorge Soler's flyout, and struck out Yoan Moncada looking to end it.

"Sometimes when you're not scoring a lot of runs, you need your pitchers to step up, and they have," Wilson said. Mission accomplished in Anaheim.

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