Julio Rodriguez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning as the Seattle Mariners rallied for a 5-4 victory against visiting Texas on Friday night, spoiling the return of Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom.
Rodriguez, who went 4-for-5, launched a 1-1 knuckle curve from David Robertson (3-4) into the second deck in left field to complete the Mariners' comeback from a four-run deficit. The 419-foot shot was Rodriguez's 15th homer of the year.
It was the sixth victory in nine games for Seattle (75-73), which remained 4 1/2 games behind the American League West-leading Houston Astros. The Mariners climbed within 3 1/2 games of the Minnesota Twins, who hold the final AL wild-card position.
deGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner coming off Tommy John surgery, pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in his first major league appearance since April 28, 2023. He allowed four hits, didn't walk a batter and fanned four while throwing 61 pitches.
Wyatt Langford hit his 11th homer for the Rangers (71-77), who lost for the third time in four games.
Trailing 4-0, the Mariners got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Victor Robles was hit by a pitch and Rodriguez doubled to right. Robles scored on Cal Raleigh's sacrifice fly to left, and Randy Arozarena lined a run-scoring single to center to pull Seattle within 4-2.
With one out in the eighth, the Mariners' J.P. Crawford singled to center and Josh Rojas walked, setting the stage for Rodriguez's two-out blast.
Mariners reliever JT Chargois (3-1) struck out all three batters he faced, and Andres Munoz pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 21st save.
The Rangers scored twice in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Marcus Semien was hit by a pitch and Josh Smith lined a single to right. With two outs, Nathaniel Lowe grounded a single to right off the mitt of Mariners first baseman Luke Raley, scoring Semien and sending Smith to third. Josh Jung then grounded a run-scoring single to right.
Langford went deep to left leading off the fifth to make it 3-0.
The Rangers added a run with a two-out rally in the seventh. Langford and Adolis Garcia walked before Lowe again singled off Raley's mitt.
Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock, recalled from Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the day to fill the rotation spot of injured ace Luis Castillo (left hamstring strain), went five innings and gave up three runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out five.
--Field Level Media