After Seattle’s big-time 1-0 victory to avoid the sweep on Wednesday against the Yankees, they were looking to find their stride offensively and keep the momentum of George Kirby’s wonderous start as the road trip began. Texas has been on a heater and have led the AL West all season, and they were firing on all cylinders against the M’s this weekend. A shutout victory followed by two straight ten plus-run games helped the Rangers ease their way to the series sweep. Let’s dive into what went wrong…and how bad it was the last few games in Globe Life Field starting with Friday night’s matchup.
Luis Castillo got the nod in the opener against red-hot Jon Gray Friday night.
We had a true pitcher’s duel throughout the entire contest. Seattle, with their bats still dormant, couldn’t get jack going against Jon. Three hits (all singles), and five total base runners, where one was picked off and one was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double.
Castillo’s one run allowed were on a sacrifice fly. He finished with seven strong, striking out six, but he was tagged with the loss thanks to his competition Jon Gray’s magnificent performance of seven innings as well, allowing just two hits and striking out five. Texas shut out Seattle Friday, a final of 2-0.
Saturday, and it was Bryan Woo time, his major league debut. He flew into Texas from Double-A Arkansas Friday, and was given the ball after Marco Gonzales was placed on the 15-day shelf with a strained left forearm.
Going into his major league debut, he was working a 2.05 ERA for the Travelers in nine starts. Now part of the big club, he was thrown into the fire, facing a scary Texas offense… which happened to do what they do best this season off of Woo.
The Rangers rattled off consecutive three run innings in the first and the second. A touchdown allowed by Bryan Woo in his debut on two RBI singles and two RBI doubles. His day was done after the second inning.
Texas wasn’t done, as they terrorized the Seattle ‘pen for ten more runs. One could say that after the first inning (3-1 Texas lead), that this one way already way out of reach for Seattle who hasn’t been seeing or hitting the ball well at all as of late. Too bad there isn’t a mercy rule in the majors, as Texas cruised to their second straight win over the M’s by a score of 16-6.
Looking to avoid the sweep again for a second consecutive series, it was Woo’s one-time Arkansas teammate Bryce Miller up against veteran, yet dazzling this season, Nathan Eovaldi.
Though Miller’s fastballs have heat, they were just fuel to Texas’ fiery offense. Where Miller had started his career off in a historically-good few outings, the wheels on the bus haven began to fall off. It was his second straight poor start. Just 2 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits, pushing his ERA up to 4.46.
On the other side, Eovaldi was near perfect. He only surrendered one hit to Seattle over six innings, striking out seven in the meantime. Another rout, as Texas swept Seattle after their 12-3 victory Sunday.
Corey Seager rounds the bases after his home run off of Seattle's Bryce Miller Sunday. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
The Mariners, now a game under .500, are in need of production on both sides going forward as they head to southern California to face off against the San Diego Padres for a brief two-game series beginning on Tuesday.
Pitching probables for SEA @ SD:
- Tues 6/6, 6:40 PM: RHP Logan Gilbert (3-3, 4.08 ERA) vs. RHP Joe Musgrove (3-2, 4.71 ERA)
- Weds 6/7, 1:10 PM: RHP George Kirby (5-4, 3.04 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (5-2, 3.48 ERA)
American League West standings as of Sunday evening:
- 1.Texas Rangers (38-20)
- 2.Houston Astros (35-24), 3.5 GB
- 3.Los Angeles Angels (31-30), 8.5 GB
- 4.Seattle Mariners (29-30), 9.5 GB
- 5.Oakland Athletics (12-49)