Mariners drop game one to Rangers despite Gilbert’s hot start
By Bel Garcia
Seattle, WA - The Seattle Mariners suffered a tough 2-1 loss the Texas Rangers in another closely contested matchup. The Mariners returned to T-Mobile Park after a series win against the Houston Astros, they welcomed another Texas team to town, the Rangers. Despite a strong pitching performance by Logan Gilbert and some early offense they were not able to hold on to win game one of the series.
Pregame scenes ahead of the Seattle Mariners loss to the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Viva Le France
Seattle took an early lead with the very first pitch of the game, with a Ty France solo homer to right field that traveled 357 feet. He has been consistent in offense for the Mariners lineup, coming off a multi-hit game against the Astros in Sunday’s rubber match and starting the offense for them there. It was only a matter of time before Ty France found his bat again and became someone the Mariners can count on. They would need that today, because another consistent player for the Mariners has been JP Crawford, he has a .424 on base percentage over his last 23 games. But Crawford was a late scratch in today’s game after a foul ball came down on his knee and he was in noticeable pain in game three against the Astros. He would get up under his own power and finish batting but sounds like he may have been experiencing some soreness today. He re-assured the media that he felt fine but wasn’t 100% when fielding balls in practice and didn’t want to affect the team. Caballero would substitute for him at the short stop position.
Seattle Mariners first baseman Ty France’s night through pictures, including the celebration of his solo homer (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Welcome Walter
Logan Gilbert had a strong performance on the mound, he had six shutout innings, but more impressive was the Mariners record that he achieved tonight. Joining elite company, Gilbert had 7 consecutive strikeouts and put his name on the list with Mark Langston and fellow teammate Luis Castillo. This was his seventh start of the season and the eight time that he has faced the Texas Rangers in his career, tied with Oakland for the most he has faced any opponent. Gilbert had six shutout innings, until the Rangers found a way to spoil his near perfect night in the top of the seventh. He ended the night only allowing 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, and one walk, with a total of 10 strikeouts.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert pitched a great game, but his team couldn’t give him any run support (Photos by Liz Wolter)
It was a quiet night for both teams on offense, with only a total of 8 combined hits. After Ty France broke the ice, the Mariners went cold. The Texas Rangers found some offense and were able to rally, besting Logan Gilbert in the seventh inning to score both of their scoring runs. Totaling 3 of their 4 hits, they put scoring runs on the board after a Jung sacrifice fly with the bases loaded that scored Semien. Followed by another scoring play, in which Heim’s single scored Garcia to give them the lead and shift the momentum of the game for good. Prior to this loss, Seattle’s last eleven games have been decided by 2 or fewer runs, including 5 one-run games. We can add one more game to both of those statistics after tonight, the Mariners also fall to below .500 again with an 18-17 record. They find themselves in the same position as the last series, down the first game and looking to redeem themselves in game two.