SEATTLE -- Mariners manager Scott Servais penciled Nelson Cruz into the lineup in right field for Seattle's final game of 2018 on Sunday, an interesting move for a team that beat the Rangers, 3-1, to finish out an 89-win season.
Cruz had played in the outfield in only three games this year in Interleague play, and never at Safeco Field, but the ploy allowed Servais to take the 38-year-old out of the game midway through the fourth inning, giving the crowd an opportunity to extend a standing ovation to the veteran designated hitter as he ran off the field.