Seattle 5, Texas 2
When: 8:05 PM ET, Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Where: Globe Life Park in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Temperature:
74°
Umpires:
Home -
Jeff Kellogg, 1B -
Brian O'Nora, 2B -
Alan Porter, 3B -
Mark Ripperger
Attendance:
26037
By The Sports Xchange
ARLINGTON, Texas -- First baseman Logan Morrison went 4-for-5 with a tiebreaking two-run double in the fifth as the Seattle Mariners completed a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers in a 5-2 victory on Wednesday night.
Morrison broke out of a season-long slump with singles in the second, seventh and ninth innings and a double down the right-field line that scored right fielder Justin Ruggiano and designated hitter Nelson Cruz.
Cruz, who went 2-for-4 with an intentional walk, also hit his major-league-leading 10th home run, a 430-foot blast to left that also accounted for his MLB-leading 22 RBIs.
Right-hander Felix Hernandez (4-0) earned his first victory at Globe Life Park in Arlington since September 2010, pitching 6 2/3 innings and giving up two runs on five hits and four strikeouts. While doing so, he became the Mariners' all-time leader in innings pitched. Hernandez eclipsed the former mark of 2,093 innings logged by lefty Jamie Moyer over 11 seasons.
Right-hander Fernando Rodney pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.
Hernandez continued a good streak for Seattle starters. Over the last eight games, Mariners starters have combined for a 1.55 ERA with 53 strikeouts. Starters have not allowed more than two earned runs during that span and 10 of the last 12 games.
Starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez (0-1) struggled with his control in taking the loss for the Rangers, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games. The Texas right-hander gave up four runs on five hits and five walks, including one intentional, over 4 1/3 innings.
Texas, which has a MLB-low .210 team batting average, managed five hits on Wednesday -- including RBI singles by right fielder Carlos Peguero and catcher Carlos Corporan -- though none in the last four innings.
Hernandez and right-handed relievers Danny Farquhar and Rodney retired Texas' last 14 hitters.
While winning for the first time in six starts at Texas, Hernandez remained just short of another career benchmark. He is two strikeouts shy of establishing an all-time mark by a Venezuelan-born pitcher. Johan Santana had 1,988 over a 12-year career.
Morrison, who entered hitting .149, including riding an 0-for-13 skid, had a hit in each of Seattle's scoring innings, including the Mariners' one-run ninth.
Cruz's long blast to left to lead off the fourth gave Seattle an early lead. Left fielder Rickie Weeks, who followed with a walk, scored the Mariners' second run from third as the Rangers turned a double play on catcher Mike Zunino's groundball to short.
The Rangers answered in the bottom half of the inning.
Peguero's RBI double scored third baseman Adrian Beltre, who walked to open the inning, and Peguero came around to score on Corporan's base hit to left-center.
Rodriguez got out of the fourth inning unscathed after giving up a walk, a wild pitch and a second walk and committing an error while loading the bases with two outs.
The Mariners didn't let him off the hook in the fifth.
After giving up a double to right fielder Justin Ruggiano and intentionally walking Cruz to start the inning, Rodriguez walked Weeks -- a .211 hitter -- a third time before Morrison's two-run double down the right-field line gave Seattle a 4-2 lead.
Rodriguez exited the game having thrown 101 pitches in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out three.
NOTES: Texas placed 1B Mitch Moreland on the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of 1B Kyle Blanks from Triple-A Round Rock. Moreland needs left elbow surgery. To make room for Blanks on the 40-man roster, the team designated OF Alex Hassan for assignment. ... Rangers OF Shin-Soo Choo sat out a second consecutive game while trying to find his stroke. He began the day hitting .096. ... Seattle 3B Kyle Seager has appeared in 147 consecutive
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
| Seattle |
|
Texas |
|
Felix Hernandez
|
Player |
Wandy Rodriguez |
|
Win |
W/L |
Loss |
|
6.2 |
IP |
4.1 |
|
4 |
Strikeouts |
3 |
|
5 |
Hits |
5 |
|
2.70 |
ERA |
8.31 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Seattle
|
9 |
1 |
14 |
.250 |
25 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
| Texas
|
5 |
0 |
7 |
.161 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
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