The Texas Rangers will play their closing residence sport of the season on Sunday afternoon. The excellent news is it is also the final time supervisor Bruce Bochy’s defending World Collection champions will face Julio Rodriguez and the Seattle Mariners.
Seattle improved to 10-2 this season in opposition to Texas with an 8-4 victory on Saturday to clinch its fifth straight sequence victory in opposition to the Rangers whereas closing to inside 1 1/2 video games of the rained-out Minnesota Twins for the third and closing American League wild-card spot.
Rodriguez continued to torment Texas pitching, going 4-for-6 — together with a house run on the primary pitch of the sport — and ending with 4 RBIs. He’s 7-for-11 with three homers, 9 RBIs and 4 runs within the first two video games of the sequence.
“He is gotten lots of good pitches to hit, and he isn’t lacking them,” Bochy mentioned. “He is a superb hitter. Bought to make good pitches and execute, and we’ve not finished a superb job of that.”
“He is simply swinging the bat very well, and when he comes up there, something can occur at this level,” Seattle supervisor Dan Wilson mentioned.
In 12 video games in opposition to the Rangers (73-82) this season, Rodriguez is batting .400 with seven residence runs, 19 RBIs and a 1.286 OPS.
“He is simply confirmed time and time once more that he is hitting the ball onerous,” Wilson mentioned. “He is hitting the ball on a line. He is capable of depart at any a part of the ballpark. Going to proper subject to start out the sport was a giant carry. With the ability to get these two runs (with a ninth-inning single) was large as effectively.”
Seattle (80-75) improved to 54-4 when scoring 5 runs or extra in a sport. The Mariners additionally tied their season excessive with 16 hits.
“It was a superb effort tonight,” mentioned catcher Cal Raleigh, one in all 5 Mariners to have a multi-hit sport. “I assumed we performed a extremely good sport throughout and now want to come back out tomorrow and end it up.”
Proper-hander Bryan Woo (8-3, 2.85 ERA), coming off his worst begin of the season on Tuesday when he allowed seven runs on 9 hits over 4 2/3 innings in an 11-2 loss to the New York Yankees, will begin for Seattle. He’ll oppose left-hander Andrew Heaney (5-14, 3.89).
Woo is 0-2 with a 12.00 ERA in three profession begins in opposition to Texas, all of them within the 2023 season. He has allowed 4 residence runs in 9 profession innings in opposition to the Rangers.
Heaney took the loss in a 7-0 setback to the Mariners final Sunday in Seattle, permitting three runs, together with a two-run homer to Mitch Garver, on seven hits over 5 innings. He’s 4-10 with a 4.40 ERA in 23 profession appearances (21 begins) in opposition to Seattle.
With simply seven video games remaining, together with a three-game sequence at AL West chief Houston beginning on Monday, the Mariners know there is no room for error in the event that they hope to make the playoffs. In addition they have three video games at residence in opposition to the Oakland Athletics.
“We all know each single sport is vital,” Raleigh mentioned. “We won’t take something without any consideration. … We all know we won’t management every other stuff. We have simply received to maintain our head down and preserve going one sport at a time.”
–Subject Degree Media