Image by Cindy Jones from Pixabay
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers timely hitting, strong starting pitching and a four-home run finale helped them win three of four games against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.
Texas closed out the series Monday with a 7-3 victory and outscored Seattle 23-14 across the four games.
The Rangers improved to 54-52, maintaining a two-game lead over Houston and moving 2½ games ahead of Seattle in the American League West.
Joc Pederson led the Rangers in the finale, homering in each of the first two innings against Seattle starter George Kirby.
Pederson opened the bottom of the first with a solo shot before hitting a three-run homer in the second.
Ezequiel Duran and Jake Burger also homered as Texas scored all seven of its runs during the first three innings. Duran led off the third with a solo homer before Burger added a two-run shot later in the inning.
Kumar Rocker protected the lead by allowing two runs on four hits over 6 2/3 innings. He walked two, struck out seven and earned his fourth victory of the season.
Kirby surrendered seven runs on seven hits over four innings. The four home runs matched his career high. He entered the game with a 9-1 record and a 1.33 ERA in 12 previous starts against Texas.
The finale allowed the Rangers to respond after Seattle rallied for a 6-4 victory Sunday.
Texas led 3-1 before Dominic Canzone hit a three-run homer and Randy Arozarena followed with a solo shot during the Mariners’ four-run seventh inning.
Jacob deGrom allowed one run on seven hits over five-plus innings, but the Rangers’ bullpen could not protect the lead.
Duran pulled Texas within a run with a solo homer in the eighth before Canzone added an RBI double for Seattle in the ninth.
Texas opened the series Friday with a 5-4 victory. Wyatt Langford hit a solo home run in the first inning, while Burger added a two-run homer in the fourth and drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single.
Nicky Lopez followed with a safety squeeze that scored Evan Carter and gave Texas an important insurance run.
Seattle scored on a wild pitch with two outs in the ninth, but closer Jacob Latz recorded the final out to preserve the victory.
Pederson also collected the 1,000th hit of his major league career with a fifth-inning single.
Nathan Eovaldi controlled Saturday’s 7-1 victory, allowing one run on three hits over seven innings while striking out eight. The win was his 10th of the season, giving him at least 10 victories in each of his four seasons with Texas.
Langford went 3-for-4 with two doubles. Duran opened the scoring with an RBI triple in the first, and Alejandro Osuna added a two-run double in the seventh.
Texas improved to 7-3 against Seattle this season and clinched the season series with three meetings remaining. The Rangers are 6-1 against the Mariners at Globe Life Field this year.
Next up for the Rangers, they open a six-game road trip Tuesday with three games against the Tampa Bay Rays, followed by three against the Astros in Houston.
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