Sept. 21 – The Seattle Mariners will try to win the series and claim a big prize — the final American League wild card — against the Texas Rangers on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas seats.
The Mariners improved to 9-2 on the season with an 8-2 win over the Rangers in Friday’s series opener, in which Julio Rodriguez hit two homers, five RBIs and George Kirby allowed two runs on five hits in six innings to improve the Mariners’ record to 9-2. The record improved to 7-0 (73-81) entering the Saskatchewan game.
Seattle (79-75) was behind the Minnesota Twins, who beat Boston 4-2 in 12 innings on Friday and fell behind by two with eight games remaining. The Twins currently hold the last of three wild-card spots in the American League.
The Detroit Tigers, who lost to Baltimore on Friday, are also one game ahead of the Mariners, while the Kansas City Royals, who have lost five in a row, remain in possession of the second wild-card spot and are one game ahead of the Mariners.
Minnesota competed with the Tigers, Mariners, and Royals in every possible tiebreaker (multiple ties and head-to-head matches).
Every start is important, and Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock (3-4, 4.83 ERA) will face future Hall of Fame right-hander Max Scherzer (2-4, 4.83 ERA) on Saturday at 3.95.
On September 13, Hancock made his first career start against the Rangers. The bases were loaded, but he didn’t think much of the decision.
Scherzer has started in nine career games against the Mariners and is 4-2 with a 2.97 ERA. He allowed two runs on five hits and struck out two in four innings on Saturday against the Mariners, who won 5-4 on Randy Arozarena’s single.
Rodriguez has hit six of his 18 home runs against Texas this season. On Friday, he hit a three-run double to left in the fifth inning to give the Mariners a 4-2 lead and hit a two-run double to right in the seventh inning to increase the lead to 6-2. It was the fourth multi-homer game of his career and the five RBIs tied his career high.
“Just stay within my limits and don’t get too big,” Rodriguez said of his hitting strategy. “You know I’m a big guy. I don’t have to do a lot, so I’ll just stay within myself, make a good swing and make sure I’m making solid contact with the ball. That’s my mindset. “I’m focused now.
Although they will need to play two games in the final eight days to have any chance of making the playoffs, Rodriguez believes the Mariners can do it.
“I think the way we’re pitching and hitting right now is really good,” he said.
The Mariners have two more games against the Rangers and three more in Houston before returning home next season to end the season against the Oakland Athletics. The Astros haven’t clinched the American League West title yet, but they’re five games ahead of the M’s.
“You just have to win the games you can win, and tonight we went out and did what we had to do,” Seattle coach Dan Wilson said after Friday’s game. “We’ll celebrate for a minute and then regroup and try again tomorrow. It was a good win tonight and a great way to start a road trip. We have a lot of important games ahead of us.”
Texas, which is 3-7 in its last 10 games, suffered its second consecutive loss, but the return of starter Jacob deGrom for the first time since April 28, 2023, following Tommy John surgery was a highlight for the defending World Series champions.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner allowed three hits and one run in three innings, the first a home run to Josh Rojas in the third inning. He hit a 99.4 mph fastball on the radar, walked one and struck out five. He threw 58 pitches, 37 of which were strikes.
“He’s good,” Rangers head coach Bruce Bochy said. “That’s a good thing. He’s getting stronger and better with his tools and his command. It’s hard to get better, though. He’s doing a great job.”
The outing pleased deGrom.
“Overall, my arm feels good, that’s the most important thing,” deGrom said. “I was able to throw all four pitches and feel good about it, so that was a big advantage.”
–Visual-level media
