Seattle, WA
Walkoff caps 'unreal' debut for Seattle Mariners' Cole Young
SEATTLE – On the eve of his major league debut, as he unsuccessfully tried to get some sleep, Cole Young’s mind raced through all the various scenarios he might find himself in the next day.
But there was one situation that never crossed his mind.
Perhaps because it would’ve seemed too good to be true.
Young delivered a walkoff in the 11th inning of his first big league game, chopping a grounder to first base that brought home Miles Mastrobuoni for the winning run in the Seattle Mariners’ 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday evening.
“That was unreal,” Young said, still trying to grasp the dream-like whirlwind that had just ensued. “I can’t even describe it. The past 24 hours, it has been insane. I mean, I never thought I would be in that situation hit a walkoff in my debut. That was unreal.
“I didn’t sleep last night,” he added. “I was just thinking of every scenario that could happen, (but) a walkoff was not in my mind.”
Young also picked up his first career hit in the ninth inning. After falling behind 1-2 against Minnesota reliever Griffin Jax, Young dipped down and pulled a low-and-inside sweeper into right field for a single.
And in the 10th, Young helped turn an inning-ending double play that prevented a run from scoring.
It was all part of a highly impressive debut for the 21-year-old second baseman, who was promoted earlier in the day after a scorching month in Triple-A Tacoma, where he hit an astounding five home runs, three triples and 10 doubles over his final 24 games.
“He’s a big league player,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “That’s why he’s here, and he made the plays. He did an outstanding job. And that’s not easy to do when it’s your first big league game.
“He was able to go out there and just be Cole Young. It’s just an outstanding ballgame for him and it led to a big win for us.”
Young, ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 43 overall prospect, was drafted by the Mariners as a first-round pick out of high school in 2022. He was highly productive at every level of the minors, all while being one of the youngest players at every stop.
Young was widely expected to reach the majors at some point this season. And after his recent tear in Tacoma, his promotion began to feel inevitable.
But still, Young was caught off-guard when he was pulled in the middle of Tacoma’s game on Friday night.
“Our manager came up to me after the third inning and he was like, you’re going to Seattle tomorrow,” Young said. “And I had him repeat it. I’m like, what? Because I couldn’t believe it. And then he told me (again).
“And so last night I didn’t sleep at all. I was just thinking about what would happen today.”
When Young came to the plate in the 11th inning, the winning run was on third with one out. He fell into an early hole, fouling off three of the first four pitches from Minnesota reliever Cole Sands.
Young then got his bat on a 1-2 splitter and sent a one-out chopper to former Mariners first baseman Ty France. France barehanded the ball and threw home, but Mastrobuoni slid in safely.
It was actually stunningly identical to Young’s walkoff on Thursday night in Tacoma, when he hit a high chopper to first that plated the winning run for the Rainiers.
“It was like the same exact hit, which is crazy,” Young said. “I’m just glad I put the ball in play and good things happen.”
After his walkoff on Saturday, Young was mobbed by his new teammates in shallow left field. Meanwhile, his family and friends celebrated from the T-Mobile Park stands, along with some 37,000 other ecstatic Mariners fans.
“I still haven’t wrapped my head around the game,” Young said, “but it’s been an unreal 24 hours.”
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Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
Mariners Injury Update: Latest on Robles, Vargas and more
The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
Mariners RHP Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment
Seattle, WA
Brandon Nimmo hits leadoff homer, Jacob deGrom works 4 scoreless as Rangers beat Seattle Mariners 5-0
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 17: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers tags out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jacob deGrom threw four shutout innings and Gavin Collyer earned his first career win as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game, and was shut out for the fourth time in 21 games, falling to 8-13. The Mariners were shut out six times during the 2025 season. Texas won its third straight game.
Nimmo led off the game with a 372-foot shot to right field off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (1-3). It was Nimmo’s 16th career leadoff homer and second of the season. He also hit a leadoff home run on April 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DeGrom effectively maneuvered through Seattle’s lineup, and worked out of a one out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner recorded two of his three strikeouts after walking Josh Naylor to load the bases. Randy Arozarena fanned on a curveball, and Luke Raley swung through a fastball.
Texas added to its lead after Nimmo’s homer. Wyatt Langford’s single to left scored Corey Seager, who led off the third inning with a double. The Rangers stretched the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single from Jake Burger in the seventh.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance came in the sixth after Collyer (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, left the game.
J.P. Crawford singled to left off Tyler Alexander with two out, and Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza sent Naylor from second base, but he was thrown out by Langford.
Texas added two more runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen and an RBI double by Josh Jung.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan left the game early due to a left hip issue.
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who started the year on the injured list with a left oblique injury, was at T-Mobile Park for the first time this season. He will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Up next
Mariners RHP George Kirby (2-2, 3.25) will face Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) on Saturday afternoon.
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