J.P. Crawford hits walkoff homer as Mariners stun Rangers

Adam Jude, The Seattle Times on Aug 2, 2025

Published in Baseball

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SEATTLE — With this lineup, and with these stakes, it’s easy to dream on the possibilities for these new-look Seattle Mariners over the next couple months.

The T-Mobile Park crowd of 40,984 could sense some of those possibilities percolating on a couple of occasions earlier in Friday’s game, collectively rising to its feet, trying to will a breakthrough.

The Mariners, up until the game’s final pitch, weren’t able to rise with the fans.

And then J.P. Crawford delivered the most thrilling regular-season moment of his career.

Seattle’s veteran shortstop turned on a 95-mph inside fastball from Texas Rangers closer Robert Garcia and sent it 370-feet out to right field for a two-run walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Mariners a stunning 4-3 victory over the rival Texas Rangers.

It was the first walkoff homer of Crawford’s career, and reverse what would have been a frustrating loss into one of the most exciting victories of the season.

Dominic Canzone led off the ninth with a sharp single off Garcia, and pinch runner Miles Mastrobuoni scored on Crawford’s walkoff.

Teammates greeted Crawford at home plate, and he was doused in water during a postgame interview.

“You just never give up,” Crawford said. “The game’s not over until there’s three outs in the ninth. We showed a lot of heart. This team has a lot of fight, and that’s what we do.”

—Rangers vs. Mariners Highlights

Crawford, ahead 2-0 in the count, knew immediately he’d hit it out.

“Just don’t miss the fastball,” he said of his mindset in that moment. “Put a good swing on it and try to get the guy over.”

The crowd, on its feet again, chanted Crawford’s name — “J.P.! J.P! J.P.!” — to provide a boisterous exclamation point to a rousing night.

With the win, the Mariners (59-52) moved two games ahead of the Rangers (57-54) for the third and final AL wild-card spot and closed within 3.5 games in the AL West of the Houston Astros, who lost at Boston on Friday.

The Mariners won 6-0 on Thursday night to open the pivotal four-game series against a Rangers team that has been closing the gap on the Mariners in the AL playoff picture.

That was the first game of the new-look lineup for the Mariners, featuring the return of Eugenio Suárez at third base and Josh Naylor at first, two bona-fide middle-of-the-order bats that have the Mariners — and this fanbase — dreaming of a return to October baseball.