On back-to-back plays, Seattle Mariners catcher Jhonny Pereda found himself on the right side of rare umpire calls that ended up resulting in the deciding run in a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.
Seattle Mariners 6, Chicago White Sox 1: Box score | Standings
Coincidentally enough, both involved White Sox second baseman Sam Antonacci, too.
With one out and Pereda on first base after he was hit by pitch to lead off the inning, Julio Rodríguez stung a 110 mph liner at Antonacci, who tried to make a heads up play by dropping the ball in order to turn a double play. Second base umpire Mike Muchlinski immediately knew what Antonacci was up to and called Pereda safe at first.
That allowed the inning to continue, and Randy Arozarena took advantage, ripping a double to the corner in left field. Pereda was thrown out at home, and it initially looked on the TV broadcast that he was in the running for slowest Mariner of all-time. But it turned out Antonacci had found himself into the basepath near second base, causing a brief collision with Pereda that slowed down the backstop considerably.
After a conference on the field by the umpiring crew, Pereda was ruled safe at home, giving Seattle a 2-0 lead.
White Sox manager Will Venable took umbrage with the sequence of events and earned himself an ejection before the game continued.
Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza may be deserving of some praise in the situation, knowing to send Pereda home even though he was likely to be thrown out because an interference call would go in Seattle’s favor.
Bryan Woo turned in a third straight quality start, holding Chicago to one run over six innings while striking out eight to earn the win. Rookie Colt Emerson hit a three-run homer for his first MLB hit in the eighth inning.
Julio Rodríguez blasted a solo homer to give Seattle a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and Josh Naylor had an RBI single in the sixth inning for the M’s.
first-inning JULIOOOOO blast 💥 pic.twitter.com/MeXc0RXUdd
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 19, 2026
The Mariners improved to 23-26 with the victory, while the White Sox dropped to 24-23. Seattle moved within a game of the Athletics (23-24) for first place in the AL West.
Game 2 of the Mariners-White Sox series is set for 6:40 p.m. Tuesday, with Bryce Miller scheduled to start and Luis Castillo in line to “piggyback” in relief for the M’s. Mariners Radio Network coverage on Seattle Sports will begin at 5:30 with the pregame show.
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• Emerson on Seattle Mariners debut: ‘I’ll remember this forever’
