Rangers Storm Back From the Brink Against Oakland, Now They're Coming to T-Mobile Park and Seattle Has a Problem

The Texas Rangers scored four runs in the ninth inning Thursday to stun the Athletics 9-6 in West Sacramento, and now they're rolling into Seattle for a three-game series against a Mariners team that is completely falling apart. This is not the matchup you want when your lineup is ice cold and your road record is historically bad.

Let's talk about what went down in Sacramento first. The Rangers were getting demolished. Nick Kurtz's wind-aided double with the bases loaded in the eighth inning cleared the bases and gave Oakland a one-run lead. It looked like the Rangers were headed for a miserable flight to Seattle. Then the ninth inning happened. Joc Pederson and Ezequiel Duran delivered the key hits, and suddenly the Rangers were on their way north with momentum instead of regret.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker was blunt about it: "I just think that they played nine innings no matter what. They play hard, and it doesn't matter what the score is. There's always a fighting chance. That could have been a demoralizing flight, quite honestly. That's not easy to do, so this is a much happier flight, for sure." Josh Jung went 3-for-5 with a double, homer, and two RBIs, and he credited left fielder Wyatt Langford's tantrum between innings. Langford was so frustrated after the eighth that he started lobbing water jugs around the visiting dugout. "He kind of did it for all of us, probably," Jung said. "We were frustrated, but then we're just laughing."

The Mariners Are in Freefall and the Rangers Just Got Hotter

Meanwhile, Seattle just got swept in San Diego, dropping the series finale 5-2 Thursday night. The Mariners are now 1-8 on the road and tied with Houston for last place in the AL West. To make it worse, they were already swept by Texas earlier this week, getting outscored 8-3 in that series.

The biggest issue? Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, and Josh Naylor are completely non-functional right now. The trio has combined for a .162 batting average with only five home runs and 24 RBIs. That's not a slump, that's a disaster. Rodriguez knows it too: "We just need to continue to set the table. Somebody's gonna eat at some point." He's right, but right now nobody is hungry enough to deliver.

DeGrom vs. Gilbert: Two Aces, One Team That's Desperate

Friday night's opener pits Rangers ace Jacob deGrom (1-0, 2.87 ERA) against Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert (1-2, 4.18 ERA). DeGrom just beat the Dodgers on Sunday, allowing one run on four hits over six innings with three walks and nine strikeouts. He beat Seattle earlier this month too, allowing just one solo homer to Raleigh over five innings. In eight career starts against the Mariners, deGrom is 2-2 with a 3.26 ERA.

Gilbert is 5-3 lifetime against Texas with a 2.90 ERA in 17 career starts, but he took the loss in that April 6 matchup with deGrom. However, he did just notch his first win of the season Sunday against Houston, allowing one run on four hits over seven innings.

The Rangers split their series with Oakland and stay tied atop the AL West. The Mariners need to find some life at home, because the road is eating them alive right now.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.