Dillon Thomas, in his long-awaited major league debut, made a memorable catch leaping up the right-field wall in the second inning to save a run for the Mariners.
Jake Fraley did even better in the bottom of the ninth inning, saving the game for the Mariners by extending his glove several feet over the wall in left field to rob Detroit’s Isaac Paredes of a walk-off home run.
Fraley then delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the 11th inning and Thomas followed with a sharp single to drive in two more runs for his first big league hit, lifting the Mariners to a 9-6 come-from-behind victory Wednesday evening in Detroit.
The Mariners (31-32) scored five runs off Detroit’s Daniel Norris in the 11th to take a 9-4 lead, with Tom Murphy adding a two-run double to extend Seattle’s lead.
The Mariners then survived a shaky bottom half of the inning by Keynan Middleton to snap a four-game losing skid to the Tigers (25-36).
Kyle Seager hit his 12th home run of the year — a three-run blast deep out to right field — to erase the Mariners’ 3-0 deficit in the sixth inning.
With the score still tied 3-3, the Tigers appeared to have won it in the bottom of the ninth when Paredes belted a Drew Steckenrider fastball deep to left field. But Fraley tracked back on the ball quickly, timed his jump perfectly and reached his right-handed glove well over the wall to make the catch.
Fraley then alertly fired the ball back into second baseman Shed Long to start a 7-5-3 double play to end the ninth inning.
And what a day it was for the 28-year-old Thomas, who spent 10 years in the minors waiting for this major league opportunity.
In his first year with the Mariners, Thomas had a hot start in Class AAA Tacoma — earning his first promotion to the big leagues after prized prospect Jarred Kelenic was sent back down to Tacoma on Monday.
Thomas acknowledged there were times he wasn’t sure the call-up would ever come for him.
