Marcus Semien’s bases-loaded single to right field in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Alejandro Osuna with the winning run as the Texas Rangers defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Saturday afternoon in the second of a three-game series between the American League West rivals in Arlington, Texas.
Semien’s decisive single — the sixth walk-off hit of his career — came off Mariners closer Andres Munoz (3-1) after Munoz hit Josh Smith with a pitch and walked Corey Seager to load the bases. Semien worked the count to full and fouled off two 100-mph pitches before pushing his single past second base in Seattle’s drawn-in infield.
Shawn Armstrong (3-3) was the beneficiary of the Rangers’ uprising after striking out two in a perfect 10th inning as Texas’ fifth pitcher of the game.
The teams have split the first two games of this series, with the Mariners winning 7-6 in 12 innings on Friday. Both teams managed just six hits each on Saturday.
Neither of the game’s starting pitchers — Bryan Woo for Seattle or Kumar Rocker for the Rangers — received a decision in the game that was decided in the final innings.
Woo, who allowed two runs (neither of them earned) on five hits over six innings, remains the only pitcher in the majors to have gone at least six frames in every one of his 16 starts this season.
Rocker gave up two runs on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts in his third start since being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on June 15.
The Mariners struck first when Dominic Canzone ripped a solo home run to right field in the third inning.
Texas responded and took the lead in the bottom of the frame as Seager blasted a two-run homer off Woo, with both the runs unearned because of a throwing error by J.P. Crawford with two outs that extended the inning.
Seattle got back to even on Randy Arozarena’s two-out single to center in the sixth that drove in Cal Raleigh, who had reached on a single.
–Field Level Media
