AL West foes will close out a three-game set on Saturday afternoon at Globe Life Field with the Seattle Mariners taking on Texas Rangers. This will be the rubber game, as Texas evened the series at one win apiece with a 7-4 triumph on Saturday to cash in as a -114 favorite. Seattle still holds a Wild Card spot at 62-53, while Texas is out of contention at 50-63.
Despite the loss, Seattle still holds a massive 12-3 advantage in the 2022 season series.
Seattle entered Saturday night with a nine-game head-to-head winning streak over the Rangers, but couldn't keep it going on Saturday in a loss. The Mariners got off to a great start by plating a run on a wild pitch in the first with Eugenio Suarez adding an RBI single later in the frame before Sam Haggerty added a sac fly the next inning, only for the Rangers to score the next five runs to go up for good.
Starter Marco Gonzales struggled in the loss, allowing five runs on nine hits while striking out two across five innings of work. Suarez also went deep on a solo shot in a standout performance for the Seattle offense.
“They were on him. I mean, they got some hits, there were some balls hit hard, and some that weren’t hit hard. That’s what happens when you put a big number up there,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said to the Associated Press abo ut Gonzales. “It happened pretty quick, and it was a matter of about 14, 15 pitches.”
The Mariners are still up a good number on the money line for the season while going an even 57-57 on the run line. Overs are 53-55-6 for Seattle, and only one of its last seven games has gone under the betting total.
Despite the strong season, the Mariners are not a high-scoring team with just 4.04 runs per game on a .698 team OPS. This team is carried by a pitching staff that ranks sixth with a 3.65 collective ERA including a mark of 3.39 from an outstanding bullpen.
Julio Rodriguez is already a star as a rookie, posting an .820 OPS with 18 homers, 21 stolen bases and 59 runs scored. Ty France is enjoying a nice year at the plate, batting .294/.364/.455 with 14 homers and 57 driven in.
Logan Gilbert will be on the mound for the 24th time, hoping to bounce back from his worst start of the seas on last Monday against the New York Yankees as he allowed seven runs on 10 hits and one walk over four innings, striking out two to take the loss. The 25-year-old was outstanding early but has faded some late, going 10-5 with a 3.47 ERA over 132.1 innings overall.
While Seattle has gotten healthier lately, catcher Tom Murphy (shoulder surgery) and first baseman Evan White (sports hernia) remain out. Starting pitcher Matthew Boyd is rehabbing from flexor tendon surgery. Relievers Ryan Borucki (strained flexor) and Casey Sadler (shoulder surgery) are out.