There’s an adage about getting back on a horse after falling off.
The same, it appears, goes for the pitching mound.
Seattle Mariners closer Andres Munoz entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday at Milwaukee with the score tied. Four walks later, the Brewers walked off with a 6-5 victory.
Some might have been surprised when Mariners manager Scott Servais called on Munoz to protect a two-run lead in the ninth inning on Saturday. This time, Munoz retired the side in order to clinch a 5-3 victory and his second save of the season.
The teams will wrap up their three-game interleague series Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.
“I really wanted to get him back in there after the rough outing (Friday),” Servais said of Munoz.
After Friday’s blow-up, Munoz walked into Servais’ office in the visitors’ clubhouse to assure his manager it wouldn’t happen again.
“He just said, ‘I don’t know, that’s not me, I’m trying to throw it down the middle and the ball is running,'” Servais said. “I told him, ‘Don’t worry about it’ and asked him, ‘How do you feel?’ He said he felt great, so I told him, ‘Good, you are back out there tomorrow.’ When I got to the park (Saturday), I told him, ‘Get ready to go, you are in there tonight.'”
Munoz didn’t shy away from the opportunity and thanked Servais for having confidence in him.
“If something went wrong last night, I want to come here the next day and work the best that I can to make the adjustment and help the team to win,” Munoz said. “I was excited to get out there again and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The Mariners’ offense got a boost from three offseason acquisitions Saturday.
Samad Taylor, called up from Triple-A Tacoma a day earlier because Ty France is on the paternity list, sparked a three-run third inning with a bunt single.
Jorge Polanco and Luis Urias led off the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, with home runs — their first as Mariners.
“We wanted that game,” said Urias, a former Brewer. “That homer felt really good. Our pitching staff has been tremendous, and as hitters we’ve been trying to do our best to help them out.”
After failing to score for seven innings against Mariners starter Bryce Miller, the Brewers rallied behind rookie Jackson Chourio’s second homer of the season.
“(Miller) pitched great for them,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I’m not going to criticize our offensive approach. It’s early in the season, and we’ve got four guys who are basically rookies in there and some guys who are just getting started.”
In the series finale, Seattle’s Emerson Hancock (1-0, 5.06 ERA) is scheduled to go against fellow right-hander Colin Rea (1-0, 1.80) of Milwaukee.
Hancock beat visiting Cleveland 5-4 Monday for his first major league victory. He will face the Brewers for the first time.
Rea, who allowed one run on five hits in a 4-1 win at the New York Mets last Sunday, is 0-0 with a 7.84 ERA in two previous starts against Seattle.
