Mariners 6, Rangers 5
ARLINGTON, Texas, Jul 14 — The events of Thursday evening saw the Texas Rangers fall to the Seattle Mariners by a final score of 6–5. For the second night in a row, the Rangers played small ball as they led 5–1 at one point. They did not hit a single home run on Thursday. They could have used one. Despite an early lead, and RBI doubles by Corey Seager, and Jonah Heim, they just couldn’t get it done. The second game in this series of four is set for Friday evening. The Mariners will send lefty Robbie Ray (7–6, 3.51) to the mound. Texas, meanwhile, will counter with Matt Bush (2–1, 3.64 ERA) on Friday night.
Rangers Get Another Early Lead
For the second night in a row, the Rangers got an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Shortstop Corey Seager drove in Marcus Semien with an RBI double to right field. Two batters later, catcher Jonah Heim stepped in. He promptly brought Seager home with an RBI double of his own. With that RBI, Heim tied his career high of 32 RBI in a single season. This was a career high that he set last year. On deck was first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. He quickly grounded out to short, but drove in Adolis Garcia, who was on base at the time, in the process.
Seager was at it again in the bottom of the second inning. Only this time, it was on a bit of a smaller scale. With a sacrifice fly to right field, was able to drive in rookie DH Elier Hernandez. Hernandez, by the way, singled earlier in the second inning to notch his first career major league hit. He would go on to hit another single in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Rangers continued their recent trend of playing small ball on Thursday night. This was the second night in a row that they didn’t have a home run to their credit. They scored their fifth, and final run in the bottom of the fifth inning. This happened on a single by Taveras that allowed Heim to cross the dish. It was a bad night for the Rangers to fall to the Mariners.
Mariners’ Offense
The Mariners weren’t able to get on the board until the top of the fourth inning. Right fielder Sam Haggerty hit an inside-the-park home run to put Seattle in the run column. Coincidentally, it was the second inside-the-park home run that took place at Globe Life Field in less than a week. Rangers infielder Josh Smith hit one on Monday night against the Oakland A’s.
The Mariners managed to cut the Rangers’ lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. They cut it down to two runs on a two-run single by Eugenio Suarez. Sam Haggerty and Julio Rodriguez both scored on the play. Rodriguez would contribute to the Mariners’ next run as well. With the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning, Rodriguez was hit by a pitch by Dennis Santana. This made the score 5–4 in favor of the Rangers. Much to the chagrin of Rangers’ fans, the Mariners took a 6–5 lead on a two-run single by DH Ty France. Both Haggerty and Abraham Toro scored on the base hit. It looked promising for the home nine in the beginning, but things just didn’t work in the Rangers’ favor. It was not to be for the Rangers as fans saw them fall to the Mariners on Friday.
Pitching Notes
Lefty Martin Perez made the start for the Rangers in this one. He pitched five innings, and gave up one earned run on three hits. It wasn’t necessarily a bad outing for Perez. His pitch count was really high, so manager Chris Woodward decided to pull him after five innings. Dennis Santana took the loss for the Rangers. He only managed to record one out in the eighth inning. He gave up one hit, and struck out one. It was a bad night for the Rangers to fall to the Mariners.
His record for 2022 now sits at 3–5, with an ERA of 4.29. Righty Matthew Festa got the winning decision for the Mariners. He pitched one inning in relief, and struck out two. Diego Castillo got the save for Seattle. It was his sixth of the season. He gave up a hit and a walk in the ninth inning, and struck out one. The Rangers are hoping to turn the page as they fall to the Mariners on Friday by a final score of 6–5.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players/Managers Mentioned:
Corey Seager, Jonah Heim, Robbie Ray, Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe, Adolis Garcia, Elier Hernandez, Sam Haggerty, Josh Smith, Eugenio Suarez, Julio Rodriguez, Dennis Santana, Ty France, Abraham Toro, Martin Perez, Chris Woodward, Matthew Festa, Diego Castillo, Matt Bush
