Rangers Walk Off against Mariners, Avoid Sweep

Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

September 22, 2024

Rangers 6, Mariners 5

ARLINGTON, Texas (Sep. 22) — The Texas Rangers ended their final homestand of 2024 on a high note by beating the Seattle Mariners, 6–5, on Sunday afternoon. A walk-off single by Marcus Semien was the difference maker in this Sunday matinee. With this series in the books, the Rangers will embark on their final road trip of the season, starting with three against the Oakland Athletics. That series, the last ever in Oakland, will begin on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm Pacific at Oakland Coliseum. Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (11–8, 3.96 ERA) will get the ball for the Rangers, while righty Mitch Spence (8–9, 4.30 ERA) will take the hill for the Athletics.

The Mariners, meanwhile, will move on to the last leg of their final road trip with a three-game set against the Houston Astros. That series will get underway on Monday with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm Central at Minute Maid Park. Right-hander Bryce Miller (11–8, 3.06 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Mariners, while righty Hunter Brown (11–8, 3.57 ERA) will take the mound for the Astros.

Mariners Strike First

The Mariners got in the run column in the top of the second against Rangers lefty Andrew Heaney. Justin Turner led off the frame with a single to center. Two batters later, J.P. Crawford was hit by a pitch and Dylan Moore followed with a single to left that scored Turner.

They scored again in the top of the third thanks to a solo homer to left by Cal Raleigh, his 31st of the season, the most in a season by a Mariners catcher.

The Mariners added three more runs in the top of the sixth. A leadoff single to left by Jorge Polanco set the table. After consecutive flyouts by Mitch Garver and Crawford, Moore advanced Polanco to third with a double to left.

Moments later, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy strolled to the mound to bring in Matt Festa to relieve Heaney. Up next was Victor Robles, who plated Polanco and Moore with a sharp single to left, making it 4–0 Mariners. Robles swiped second for his 32nd steal of the season, and he scored on two consecutive errors. Semien missed the catch at second on a pickoff attempt by Festa. The ball rolled out to shallow left. Shortstop Josh Smith went to retrieve it and committed a throwing error trying to get Robles out at the plate, extending the Mariners’ lead to 5–0.

Semien Walks it Off

The Rangers got on the board in the bottom of the sixth against Mariners righty Bryan Woo. After Travis Jankowski flied to center to open the inning, Leody Taveras and Semien reached on back-to-back singles. Smith drove in Taveras with a third consecutive single that went to center.

Upon seeing the opportunity before him, Langford made his way to the dish. With the sellout crowd of 39,882 in his corner, Langford launched a three-run homer to left-center. That brought the Rangers to within one run.

The Rangers tied it at five runs apiece with a solo shot to right by Taveras off Mariners reliever JT Chargois.

The Rangers were able to shut the door on the Mariners in the bottom of the ninth. It appeared as though the game would head into extra innings when Duran lined to second and Jankowski struck out swinging to start the inning. Things happened quickly, however, when Taveras singled to left and stole second. On deck was Semien, who sent a blooper out to left. It evaded the Mariners’ defense as it barely stayed in fair territory. Once the ball touched down on the turf, Taveras raced home and both he and Semien were drenched in Gatorade by their teammates outside the Rangers’ dugout.

What Went Right for the Rangers

The Rangers were determined to send their fans home happy one last time, and they delivered. The home runs by Langford and Taveras closed the gap, and Taveras scored the winning run on Semien’s base hit. The Rangers showed how resilient they can be when they are up against the ropes and ended their afternoon in a big way.

What Went Wrong for the Rangers

The Rangers’ troubles started with Moore’s RBI single in the first. They ran into more trouble when Raleigh hit his homer in the third off Heaney, and the sixth inning didn’t go well for them either, as the Mariners scored four more on Robles’ RBI single.

Heaney Goes Five and Change

Rangers starter Andrew Heaney avoided the loss despite exiting with his team trailing, 4–0, with two outs in the sixth. His final line was 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R-ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 94 pitches/64 strikes. He finished with a 3–6 record and 3.64 ERA over 15 appearances, 14 of which were starts at Globe Life Field this season. Sunday’s start was his 30th of the season, matching the highest single-season start total of his career. He also started 30 in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.

Kirby Yates notched his seventh win of the season after tossing a perfect ninth with one strikeout. His record now sits at 7–2 with an ERA of 1.21.

Woo’s Afternoon

Mariners righty Bryan Woo made his 21st start of the season on Sunday and also took a no-decision despite exiting with a 5–4 lead. His line on the afternoon was 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R-ER 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 82 pitches/53 strikes. The 24-year-old dealt a scoreless contest until the sixth in which he surrendered the three-run shot to Langford. Woo has only yielded four or more runs four times this season despite three of those outings coming in his last five starts. Woo has yet to earn a win over the Rangers in four career starts.

Postgame Comments

After the game, Bochy discussed the afternoon that his offense had. “They had a lot of fight in them. It was a two-run game, and we ended up giving them three more to work with. It was unfortunate for Andrew (Heaney) because he did a nice job,” Bochy said. “Anytime you can get five runs against that team is a good day, because they have been giving us fits all year. So, to come back at home, you couldn’t ask for a better day, and the fans were great, too. We had 39,000-plus, and they showed us a lot of support, not just today, but all year.”