For Mariners' Gutierrez, pinch-hit grand slam was 'huge'
The story of Franklin Gutierrez is one of perseverance and resilience of mind - after all, he missed all of the 2014 season due to ankylosing spondylitis, an arthritic nerve condition that at times made him question whether his career was over.
But he made it through, and was called up to the Mariners earlier this season after resuming work at the Triple-A level.
His pinch-hit, go-ahead grand slam off Detroit Tigers reliever Neftali Feliz on Tuesday night was big - not just since it helped the Mariners win a game they desperately needed to win, but also due to Gutierrez's story.
As he told Greg Johns of MLB.com afterwards, "It's huge. We need to win. Everybody here is doing their jobs. For me to come back to this team and have an opportunity to do something, it's huge for me to contribute any time I've got the opportunity."
Guti in the clutch. WATCH: http://t.co/U4a2lAp0nt #GrandSalamiTime pic.twitter.com/euUEvfT48A
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 22, 2015
Remarkably, Gutierrez's heroic at-bat was pretty rare in the history of the Seattle franchise, as pointed out by the team's PR staff on Twitter:
With the Mariners still struggling to score runs and be consistent enough on offense to win ballgames, Tuesday night's excitement came at a perfect time...and reminded folks of the type of threat Gutierrez can still be now that he's healthy again.
PH Grand Slam by Franklin Gutierrez was the 2nd in #Mariners history (B. Broussard, 4/21/07 at LAA). 2nd in @MLB this season (Stephen Drew).
— MarinersPR (@MarinersPR) July 22, 2015
