Sept. 14 – Julio Rodriguez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning and visiting Texas beat the Seattle Mariners 5–4 on Friday night, spoiling the comeback of Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom.
Rodriguez went 4-for-5, blasting a 1-1 knuckleball off David Robertson (3-4) to complete the Mariners’ comeback after falling behind by four runs. The 419-foot hit was Rodriguez’s 15th home run of the year.
It was Seattle’s (75-73) sixth win in nine games and it remains 4 1/2 games behind the American League West-leading Houston Astros. The Mariners remain 3 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins, who hold the AL’s final wild-card spot.
DeGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner fresh off Tommy John surgery, pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in his first major league game since April 28, 2023. He allowed one hit, walked no batters, and allowed 4 runs.
Wyatt Langford hit his 11th homer for the Rangers (71-77), who lost for the third time in four games.
The Mariners scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh quarter after falling behind 4-0. With one out, Victor Robles was hit by a pitch and Rodriguez doubled to right. Robles scored on Cal Raleigh’s fly ball to left and Randy Arozarena hit a single to center to make it 4-2 for Seattle.
With one out in the eighth, the Mariners’ J.P. Crawford singled to center and walked Josh Rojas, setting the stage for Rodriguez’s two-out blast.
Mariners reliever JT Chargois (3-1) struck out all three batters he faced, and Andres Munoz recorded his 21st perfect save in the ninth inning.
The Rangers scored twice in the first inning. Leadoff batter Marcus Semien was hit by a pitch and Josh Smith singled to right. With two outs, Nathaniel Lowe hit a single off Mariners first baseman Luke Raley to score Semien and move Smith to third. Josh Jung then hit a run-scoring single to right.
Langford drove deep to left to make it 3-0 in the fifth.
The Rangers recorded another win with two outs in the seventh inning. Langford and Adolis Garcia stepped up and Lowe once again challenged Reilly’s glove.
Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock, recalled from Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the day to replace injured ace Luis Castillo (left hamstring strain) in the rotation, pitched five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out five.
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