9/21/24
(Arlington, TX) After a long season of struggling offense, the Seattle Mariners seemed to have found some momentum in the month of September. Eight runs in the series opening win over the Texas Rangers was just the latest evidence of that but the M’s would need a lot more of that offense to make a push for the playoffs. Game two would give them another chance to keep building momentum before heading to Houston.
Mariners 8, Rangers 4 (Game Two, September 21st)
Max Scherzer was supposed to get the start for Texas but the legend would be a late scratch and likely shutdown for the season. Dane Dunning would step in to get the start and the M’s got to him on the first pitch. Julio Rodríguez drove Dunning’s first pitch out to right for a solo shot and his 19th home run of the season. A few more singles would net another run later in the inning on a single for Jorge Polanco to give Emerson Hancock a 2-0 lead before taking the mound.
Hancock dazzled in the first couple of innings but the M’s couldn’t open up the lead as they left two stranded in the 3rd. In the bottom of the 3rd, Texas started to do work with two outs. With Travis Jankowski on second after his fourth double of the season, Josh Smith strode to the plate with two away. With a 3-2 count, Hancock threw a heater on the inner half, but Smith got his hands in and drove it out to right for his 13th home run. The two-run blast snapped the Mariners back to reality with the score tied 2-2.
Both teams put together two-out rallies in the 4th, but neither could cash in on the opportunities. After both went 1-2-3 in the 5th, the Mariners got a hit parade going in the 6th. J.P. Crawford was thrown out trying to extend a single to a double, but Dylan Moore followed with a walk and moved up to second on an infield single by Josh Rojas. Texas would go back to the bullpen as José Leclerc relieved Andrew Chafin to face Julio Rodríguez. It wouldn’t matter. J-Rod stayed scorching hot with a base hit to right, scoring Moore and giving the Mariners back the lead 3-2. The bats wouldn’t stop there as Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena each followed with their own RBI single to put a crooked number up and making it 5-2 M’s.
Hancock would be done after five innings as Dan Wilson turned the game over to his bullpen, starting with Troy Taylor. It would be the worst game of Taylor’s young career as he struggled immediately. A walk to Wyatt Langford would be followed by a strikeout of Adolis García. He would also get Nathaniel Lowe on strikes before things fell apart. After Langford stole second, Ezequiel Duran drove him in with an RBI single, making it 5-3. Back-to-back walks to Leody Taveras and Carson Kelly loaded the bases and ended Taylor’s night. Collin Snider took over but didn’t fare any better as he walked Travis Jankowski, gifting Texas a run and making it 5-4. A 3-2 pitch to Marcus Semien was driven deep into the left field corner and looked to give Texas the lead. Randy Arozarena would somehow flag it down and make a running catch to end the inning and preserve the Mariners 5-4 lead.
Tayler Saucedo escaped a jam in the 7th and gave the ball to Austin Voth in the 8th. Leody Taveras and Carson Kelly both flew out for a quick two outs before Voth got in trouble. Travis Jankowski recorded his second double of the game and fifth of the season to put the tying run in scoring position. Marcus Semien hit a slow roller for an infield single to move Jankowski to third with two outs. Semien would steal his way into second to put the go-ahead run in scoring position, but Voth would escape. He got Josh Smith to chase a pitch in the dirt for strike three, ending the inning and leaving two runners stranded in scoring position.
Lefty Walter Pennington pitched the top of the 9th for Texas. After striking out Leo Rivas, Pennington gave Jorge Polanco a first pitch cutter and Polanco sent it to the gap in right center for his 10 double of the year. Victor Robles would run for Polanco and his speed changed the game. Already stealing third, Robles saw the Pennington pitch kick away from Carson Kelly. Robles never slowed down and flew around third and scored from second on the wild pitch to give the Mariners some insurance with a 6-4 lead.
Seattle wasn’t close to done. A triple for J.P. Crawford triple would give the M’s a golden opportunity to add on. After Dylan Moore was hit by a pitch, Mitch Haniger entered as a pinch hitter but would go down on strikes for the second out. D-Mo stole second off of Gerson Garabito and set the table for Julio. Once again Rodríguez clutched up with a base hit to left. Crawford and Moore both scored easily, and things had been opened up much more with Seattle up 8-4.
With a bigger lead, Dan Wilson got to give closer Andres Muñoz another night off. Eduard Bazardo would pitch the 9th but gave up a leadoff single to Wyatt Langford. A bounce back strikeout of Adolis García would be the first out of the inning, but Nathaniel Lowe singled to put two men on. One more base runner would have forced the M’s to use Muñoz but Bazardo took care of business. Ezequiel Duran sent a fly ball to center that was handled by Julio before Leody Taveras flew out to Arozarena in left. The extra insurance made it a little more relaxing as the M’s earned a series win and an opportunity at the sweep with an 8-4 win.
Notable Performances
Mariners
- Julio Rodríguez- 4-6, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, SB
- Jorge Polanco- 3-5, 2B, RBI
- Emerson Hancock (W, 4-4)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
Rangers
- Josh Smith- 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Travis Jankowski- 2-3, 2 2B, RBI, R, BB
- Dane Dunning (ND)- 3.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
What’s Next
Another victory for the Seattle Mariners gives them three victories in a row and wraps up a series win in Arlington. Unfortunately, Houston defeated Los Angeles once again, keeping the Mariners five games behind the Astros in the AL West. Minnesota had their game rained out with Boston and they will make up that game in a doubleheader on Sunday. Detroit knocked off Baltimore while Kansas City lost to San Francisco for their sixth consecutive loss. In the AL Wild Card race, the Mariners are two games behind Kansas City for the second Wild Card and 1 1/2 behind Minnesota for the final Wild Card spot. Detroit remains one game in front of the Mariners with the tiebreaker over Seattle as well.
Seattle will look to sweep Texas in the finale on Sunday at 11:35am. In the final game between the two teams in 2024, Bryan Woo (8-3, 2.85 ERA) will be looking to flush a brutal outing against the Yankees earlier in the week. This will be Woo’s first start against the Rangers this season. For Texas, it will be lefty Andrew Heaney (5-14, 3.89 ERA) getting the ball in the finale. Heaney is one starter that has made it through the season for Texas, but he has taken the loss in all three of his starts against the Mariners this year.
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