SEATTLE_In the hours after hitting his first home run of the season and second of his career _ last Wednesday night in a defeat against the Boston Red Sox _ Shawn O'Malley joked that if that ball hadn't gone out over the wall at Safeco Field, he would have had to rethink his offseason workout plan.
It appears his offseason plans can stay the same because they are starting to pay unexpected dividends.
O'Malley, known more for his versatility, speed and hustle, and given the cliche of "scrappy utility player," continued his homer "barrage" Saturday night in the Mariners' 8-6 comeback victory over the Angels.
Perhaps it's fitting that the kid born and raised in the Tri-Cities, who grew up watching Ken Griffey Jr., and admittedly becomes a shy little kid in his presence, had one of his best games in a Mariners' uniform on the night Griffey was honored by having his No. 24 jersey retired.
O'Malley didn't quite have the Griffey swing and follow through or strut around the bases, but O'Malley provided the biggest in-game roar from the sold-out crowd of 45,618 with his go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning.
Facing reliever Deolis Guerra and down in the count 0-1, O'Malley turned on a 91 mph fastball, sending a high drive past right field. For a guy not known for huge power, this was no wall-scraper. It landed 15 rows deep and turned a frustrated crowd ebullient.
After squandering a bases-loaded opportunity as only they can in the sixth inning, the Mariners didn't waste another chance in the seventh.
Down 6-4, Seattle loaded the bases against Guerra with Adam Lind, Kyle Seager and Seth Smith drawing three consecutive one-out walks. Leonys Martin narrowed the deficit to one run, lining out to deep left, which allowed Lind to tag up and score.
It set up O'Malley's big at-bat. After being designated for assignment by the Angels following the 2014 season, O'Malley chose to sign a minor-league deal with the Mariners, spurning multiple offers and choosing to play close to home. He's become a valuable contributor for a team racked by injuries.
The crowd gave O'Malley a standing ovation following his home run. The fans were on their feet for O'Malley again in the top of the eighth when he made a tough backhand stop at shortstop on Andrelton Simmons' ground ball deep in the hole and fired to first to get the out.
It was the second consecutive night the Mariners' offense has bailed out their starting pitcher.
Taijuan Walker's return to the starting rotation didn't go as expected. The young right-hander has had his season sidetracked with issues in his right foot. Walker and the Mariners believed they had them fixed with an extended stint on the disabled list and some modified treatment. But he made it just four innings, giving up six runs on seven hits with two walks and no strikeouts. His command was shaky with multiple pitches left over the plate that were hit hard.
It started early. Just as Friday night against Felix Hernandez, Mike Trout gave the Angels a 3-0 lead, crushing a fastball to left for a three-run homer in the first inning.
But unlike Hernandez, Walker wasn't able to hold the Angels down after limiting the damage to just the three runs in the first. And the Mariners didn't answer with six runs immediately, but they did get one in the first inning. Walker then worked a 1-2-3 second inning, but gave up one-out run-scoring triple to Trout and a sacrifice fly to Albert Pujols to make it 5-1 in the third. Seattle answered in the third with Guillermo Heredia's first big-league homer _ a solo blast to left off Angels' starter Tyler Skaggs.
But Walker never found a groove, giving up another run in the fourth.
