Ty France played a few rounds of Golden Tee Golf on an arcade machine set up outside the visitors clubhouse at Cleveland’s Progressive Field.
Eugenio Suarez played cards with teammates. Jesse Winker called his daughter and took a short nap. J.P. Crawford lounged around and watched some TV.
The Mariners each had their own methods to ride out a four-and-a-half hour rain delay Sunday in Cleveland.
For most of them, it was the longest day of their professional baseball careers, having arrived at the ballpark around 11 a.m. ET, then sitting through the uncertain rain delay, and then finally pulling out a 6-3 victory in an 11-inning game that didn’t end until 11:01 p.m. ET.
“It was definitely a long day up and down,” France said Monday afternoon. “When we restarted (in the fourth inning), we expected to only play a couple innings. Next thing you know we’re in the 11th. It felt like forever.”
The Mariners finished up the road trip with six wins in six days to move into the top spot in the American League wild-card race. They quickly packed up the clubhouse Sunday night and headed for the airport for a four-plus hour flight home.
The team arrived back at T-Mobile Park just before 3 a.m. PT.
Suarez said he finally fell asleep around 5 a.m. Most of the Mariners were back at the ballpark Monday by 1 o’clock ahead of a 3:40 p.m. first pitch to start a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox.
“It definitely helps when you’re winning,” said Suarez, who was given a rare game off Monday. “When you’re winning, everything is fine and everyone is happy, no matter how long you spend at the ballpark.”
Manager Scott Servais said the bus ride to the Cleveland airport was the most raucous of the season.
“That’s about as excited as I’ve heard our team all year,” he said. “The guys were going crazy. It’s one of those games that almost everybody plays in it, everybody pitches in it and everybody feels they have a hand in doing their job and getting it done.”
Julio Rodriguez had four hits, including his 23rd home run of the season. He also stole his 24th base of the season, and Servais credited the rookie center fielder for keeping everyone’s spirits up.
“The energy level that that kid plays with every day, it is contagious,” Servais said Monday afternoon. “… You sit there for four hours. Everybody’s just sitting around. No one knows what’s going on (for a potential restart). They’re all on their phones or playing cards, whatever. And it’s really hard to stay up and get it back going again. And you could say, ‘Oh, they’re professional athletes; they get paid to do this.’ Well, they’re human. It’s really hard.
“But Julio, from the get-go, after we started playing again and after (the Guardians) tied the game, I just loved the energy. It’s the whistling; it’s working things out. They get on each other. We joke around in the dugout. But that’s what baseball is about. It is a frickin’ marathon and yesterday was the epitome of it. But it was awesome. It was awesome to be around.”
Dylan Moore still weeks away
Utility player Dylan Moore, placed on the injured list Aug. 30 with an oblique strain, is still at least a couple weeks away from returning — “in the best-case scenario,” Servais said.
Moore has started some running drills and was scheduled to do a rotational workout in a pool Monday, but he has not yet started any baseball activity.