Rangers 7, Mariners 4
ARLINGTON, Texas, Aug 13 — The Texas Rangers won a back and forth game against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night by a final score of 7–4. With this win, the Rangers have evened this series against the Mariners at one win apiece. Corey Seager hit his 26th home run of the year, and the Rangers will be more than happy with the end result. It is their first win against the Mariners in their last nine games against them. The series finale between these two teams is set for Sunday afternoon at 1:35 PM Central. The Mariners will send righty Logan Gilbert (10–5, 3.47 ERA) to the mound in this one. The Rangers will counter with left-hander Martin Perez (9–3, 2.85 ERA).
Back and Forth Night
Both teams had their share of scoring opportunities on Saturday evening. The seal on this contest was broken by the Mariners in the top of the first inning. A wild pitch by Rangers starter Dane Dunning allowed Julio Rodriguez to score from third base. Jesse Winker was the batter at that point in the game. Moments later, Eugenio Suarez made it 2–0 Mariners with a sacrifice fly to centerfield. Ty France scored on the play. Another sac fly in the top of the second inning gave Seattle a 3–0 lead. It came off the bat of Mariners right-fielder Sam Haggerty, and it drove in catcher Cal Raleigh.
The Rangers scored their first run in the bottom of the fourth inning of this back and forth contest. An RBI double to right field by catcher Jonah Heim allowed outfielder Adolis Garcia to score. The score was now 3–1 in favor of the Mariners. Later in the inning, Rangers’ DH Charlie Culberson drove in Heim with a single to the left side of the infield. There was also a fielding error by Eugenio Suarez at third base on that play. Moments later, with Nathaniel Lowe on third base, Ezequiel Duran singled to centerfield to tie the game at 3–3. With the game still in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Rangers took a 4–3 lead thanks to a sacrifice bunt by Bubba Thompson that scored Culberson.
More Back and Forth Offense
The Rangers soon added another run to their lead on the bat of Corey Seager. It was yet another solo home run by Seager, but it got the job done. For Seager, it was his 26th homer of the season, which ties his career-high that he set in 2016 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mariners cut the Rangers’ lead to one run in the top of the sixth inning of this back and forth game.
It came on a solo home run to centerfield by Eugenio Suarez. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Rangers answered right back with their sixth run of the game. Ezequiel Duran crossed the dish on an RBI single by Josh Smith, who was pinch-hatting for left-fielder Elier Hernandez. The Rangers scored one more run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Josh Smith came in to score on a fielder’s choice grounded into by Adolis Garcia.
Pitching Notes
Right-hander Dane Dunning allowed two runs in the first inning, and one run in the second inning. He retired seven of the next 11 batters he faced before being lifted for Brett Martin with one out in the fifth inning. It was just his third non-qualifying start in 11 outings at Globe Life Field this season, though he has failed to complete five innings in two of his last three starts here (also 2 1/3 IP on 7/10 against the Minnesota Twins).
Dunning exited with Texas in front, 4–3, and has left the game with a lead in each of his last two starts after exiting while tied or trailing seven straight outings from June 19 through July 31. The winning decision went to Martin. His record for 2022 now sits at 1–7, with and ERA of 3.79. Marco Gonzalez was saddled with the loss for the Mariners. His record for 2022 now sits at 7–12, with an ERA of 4.18. Jonathan Hernandez earned the save for the Rangers in this back and forth affair. It was his third save of the season.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Corey Seager, Logan Gilbert, Martin Perez, Dane Dunning, Julio Rodriguez, Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suarez, Ty France, Sam Haggerty, Cal Raleigh, Jonah Heim, Adolis Garcia, Charlie Culberson, Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran, Bubba Thompson, Josh Smith, Elier Hernandez, Brett Martin, Marco Gonzalez, Jonathan Hernandez
