To say Seattle Mariners fans were on edge would be an understatement. After winning the first two games of the ALCS, they lost the next two and entered the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 5 trailing 2-1. Mariners fans were eager to see their team win its first-ever American League Pennant and could smell it after the first two games, but the dream was slowly fading away as the series progressed. Well, the tables certainly turned.
Cal Raleigh had his MVP moment by hitting a game-tying home run, and later in that same inning, Eugenio Suarez came through with arguably the biggest hit in Mariners franchise history. This might seem like an overreaction at first glance, but a go-ahead grand slam to get his team one win away from their first-ever World Series appearance certainly feels like a franchise-changing moment in the Game 5 win.
Rarely do we ever see radio calls meet a moment of this magnitude perfectly, but Mariners radio play-by-play broadcaster Rick Rizzs completely nailed it and then some.
Grandma. Rye bread. Mustard. Both calls: pic.twitter.com/1r8tahRws0
— Mariners Playoff Hopeful (@MsPlayoffHope) October 18, 2025
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Mariners radio broadcast pays homage in perfect way after historic swing
Is anyone else hungry? I might end up making a salami sandwich after writing this article. It's one thing to think of busting out the "get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma" call, famously used by former Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus, but it's another to actually use it. Rizzs used it, and used it flawlessly.
Edgar Martinez's grand slam might've been the biggest hit in Mariners history before this, and so it's only right for the mantle to be passed over to Suarez with a similar call.
It's creative, historic, and just fun. The call couldn't have been much better, and the call certainly met the moment.
Epic Mariners radio call meets moment of Eugenio Suarez grand slam
This moment had all of the drama attached to it. The Mariners, after losing their grip on the series, desperately needed this game to keep their World Series hopes alive. The crowd at T-Mobile Park knew just that. It's not as if this fan base has ever experienced anything like this.
The only way to appropriately capture a moment of this magnitude would be to come up with the exact call Rizzs came up with. Again, this is now the biggest hit in Mariners history (for the time being) and it's awesome to see a call worthy of pairing with it.
The Mariners are now one win away from clinching their first-ever World Series berth, and if they're able to finish the job, we can count on Rizzs to come up with another perfect call to meet the moment.