Inside The Mariners

M's Hold On to Win Nail Biter on Saturday as Kirby, Rojas and Julio Lead the Way

The Seattle Mariners made it closer than they needed to on Saturday night but they ultimately held on to beat the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park, 7-5. As a result, the M's are now 7.5 games up on Texas in the American League West.

Brady Farkas

Seattle Mariners third baseman Josh Rojas (4) gestures toward the dugout after hitting a two-run single eighth inning against the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park on June 15.
Seattle Mariners third baseman Josh Rojas (4) gestures toward the dugout after hitting a two-run single eighth inning against the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park on June 15. / Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports
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The Seattle Mariners captured another series victory on Saturday night in beating the Texas Rangers, 7-5, at T-Mobile Park. The win moved the M's to 42-31 and gave them a 7.5 game lead in the American League West, which is the largest divisional lead for the organization since 2003. As we do after every game, here's what you need to know:

The Overwhelming Story

The M's usually tepid offense did a great job early against Rangers' starter Nathan Eovaldi, and then found a way to add-on late. However, the bullpen faltered, turning a 7-1 lead in the ninth inning to a nail-biting 7-5 win.

The Big Plays

In the bottom of the first inning, Cal Raleigh opened the scoring with a single to right. This gave the M's a 1-0 lead.

Julio Rodriguez hit his seventh home run of the season in the third inning. This made it 3-0 M's as Julio went out to left center.

Leading 4-1 in the seventh inning, Josh Rojas added an insurance run with a home run to right field. This made it 5-1 Seattle.

Rojas made it 7-1 in the eighth with this two-run single to center.

In the ninth, the Rangers clawed back, scoring four runs off Eduard Buzardo but Ryne Stanek locked down the game by getting Corey Seager to ground out to first base with two men on. Seager represented the go-ahead run at the time.

Odds and Ends

Starting pitcher George Kirby went 6.0 strong innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits. He walked two and struck out six. He's now 6-5 on the year with a 3.54 ERA... Stanek got his seventh save of the year and is likely unavailable on Sunday after working back-to-back games... Andres Munoz didn't work in the win, but has worked two of the last three games, so his status for Sunday is up in the air.. Rodriguez went 2-for-5 in the win... He, Rojas and Dom Canzone each had multi-hit games... Seattle stole four bases in the win.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

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