Miles Mastrobuoni’s single in the top of the 12th inning drove home Randy Arozarena with the deciding run as the Seattle Mariners eked out a 7-6 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday in the opener of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.
Mastrobuoni’s two-out hit off Shawn Armstrong (2-3), the eighth Texas pitcher, came after the substitute infielder made a clutch over-the-shoulder catch near the left field line in the bottom of the 11th to send the game to another inning.
Eduard Bazardo (3-0) pitched the final two innings for Seattle, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Texas had won two straight.
The Mariners outhit Texas 16-9 but left 14 runners on base and went 4-for-23 with runners in scoring position. Julio Rodriguez and J.P. Crawford led the Seattle attack with three hits and two runs each.
The contest was billed as a battle between starters Logan Gilbert for Seattle and the Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi but neither figured in the decision.
The Mariners scored in their first at-bat as Jorge Polanco’s one-out single to right field drove home Rodriguez. Texas answered in the bottom of the inning on Corey Seager’s two-out solo home run.
Seattle regained the lead in the third. Crawford opened the frame with a single, went to third on a double by Rodriguez and scored on a fielder’s choice groundout by Polanco. Arozarena followed with a sacrifice fly to allow Rodriguez to sprint home and make it 3-1.
Jacob Webb relieved Eovaldi to start the fourth and gave up singles to Dominic Canzone, Ben Williamson and Cole Young to load the bases with no out. Webb coaxed Crawford to ground into a force play at home before Rodriguez plated Williamson with a groundout that expanded the lead to 4-1.
Eovaldi allowed three runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts over three innings.
In the sixth Seattle added to the lead when Crawford scooted home on a wild pitch by Rangers reliever Cole Winn.
Texas finally got to Gilbert in the bottom of the sixth. Josh Smith singled to lead off the inning and moved to second when Gilbert hit Sam Haggerty with a pitch. Marcus Semien’s one-out double drove in Smith and Adolis Garcia then singled to plate Haggerty and Semien.
Gilbert gave up four runs on five hits, walking one and striking out seven in 5 1/3 innings.
The Rangers tied the game in the seventh on a two-out single by Haggerty off Gabe Speier after a double by Smith.
Donovan Solano’s single to left field in the 10th drove home Dylan Moore but that tally was answered by the Rangers when Garcia’s sacrifice fly plated Haggerty.
–Field Level Media
