MLB Rankings: Baseball’s Greatest Hits of Week-24
By Bill Felber
MLB Rankings: Greatest Hits in Week-24
7. Omar Narvaez, 46 percent
Acquired by Seattle in a winter trade with Chicago, Omar Narvaez has found himself splitting time with erstwhile backup Tom Murphy. But despite the disappointment of the 2019 season, Narvaez has maintained his offensive profile, delivering career highs in batting average (.280) and home runs (21).
Saturday night against his old team, Narvaez reminded the Sox of precisely what they had given up on.
Felix Hernandez and Dylan Cease were locked in a scoreless battle until Seattle’s Shed Long homered off Cease with one out in the fifth. The Sox evened things in the seventh, however, when Zack Collins’ groundout got Jose Abreu home after Abreu had singled and taken third on Yoan Moncada’s double.
The contest then resolved into a bullpen battle, with four Sox relievers and two Mariners taking turns blanking each side through the eighth and ninth.
Narvaez batted third in the bottom of the ninth, having failed to contribute anything in his first three trips to the plate. After retiring Kyle Seager and Kyle Lewis, White Sox reliever Alex Colome slipped a first strike past Narvaez, then delivered a second pitch that Narvaez hoisted far and deep into the right-field seats. It was the Mariners’ first walk-off victory since July.