Rangers Fall Apart in Extras Against Mariners

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

June 30, 2025

Mariners 6, Rangers 4 (12 Innings)

ARLINGTON, Texas (June 29) — The Texas Rangers lost to the Seattle Mariners, 6–4, Sunday in their third consecutive extra–inning affair. The big hit for the Mariners was a home run by Mitch Garver in the 12th inning. With this series in the books, the Rangers will close out their homestand with three against the Baltimore Orioles. That series will begin Monday with first pitch scheduled foe 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. It will be a duel of lefties as Trevor Rogers (1–0, 1.62 ERA) will get the ball for the Orioles, and Patrick Corbin (4–7, 4.24 ERA) will take the hill for the Rangers.

The Mariners, meanwhile, will head back to Seattle to begin a four-game set against the Kansas City Royals. The opener for that series will also be on Monday with first scheduled for 6:40 pm Pacific at T-Mobile Park.. Right-hander Michael Wacha (4–7, 3.33 ERA) will take the mound for the Royals, while righty George Kirby (1–4, 5.40 ERA) will make the start for the Mariners.

Jung and the Restless

The Rangers grabbed a 1–0 lead in the bottom of the second against Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo. With one out, Evan Carter began what would be his third three-hit game since June 8 with a double to left. Up next was Josh Jung, who quickly scored Carter with a sharp single to right.

The Mariners tied it at one in the top of the sixth off Rangers starter Jack Leiter. A one-out single to left by Randy Arozarena got the ball rolling.

A fly-out to center by Dominic Canzone brought the former Ranger Garver to the plate. The fans hadn’t forgotten his contribution to the Rangers’ World Series championship in 2023, judging from the warm reception he received. After the noise settled, Garver plated Arozarena with a single to left.

Extra Extra Extra

As previously mentioned, the Rangers and Mariners did battle in extra innings for the third straight day Sunday. The Mariners took a 3–1 lead in the top of the 10th off reliever Luke Jackson with Julio Rodriguez serving as the automatic runner at second.

Jackson intentionally walked Cal Raleigh to start the inning. Both runners moved up a base thanks to a sacrifice bunt by Luke Raley. On deck was Arozarena. He was also given an automatic four-fingered solute by Rangers manager Bruce Bochy.

Up next was Donovan Solano, who scored Rodriguez with a single to left. Raleigh was hot on his trail but was tagged out at home on a throw from Alejandro Osuna in left. On deck was Garver, who drove in Arozarena with a single to left.

The Rangers tied it up in the bottom of the 10th with Carlos Vargas on the mound for the Mariners. Kyle Higashioka jogged out to second as the automatic runner. Josh Smith led off by grounding out to second, bringing up Corey Seager. He stepped in and blasted a 3–2 pitch over the wall in left-center.

On to the 12th

Fast forward to the top of the 12th. Reliever Cole Winn was on the mound for the Rangers and Raley was on second for the Mariners. Arozarena led off with a sharp single to left, sending Arozarena to third. Raley crossed the plate on a groundout to third by Solano. Garver was up next. He launched one over the wall in left-center.

The Rangers scored once more in the bottom of the 12th. Once again, Higashioka trotted to second and Trent Thornton was now on the mound for the Mariners.

Higashioka advanced to third on a groundout to short by Josh Smith. Up next was Seager, who plated Higashioka with a sacrifice fly to left.

What Went Right for the Mariners

Garver had a nice afternoon for the Mariners with his homer and RBI single. Any manager would love to have a guy like Garver, who is good with defense and offense, on their team.

What Went Wrong for the Rangers

The main issue the Mariners had was choosing to pitch to Seager in the late innings. He made them pay with his two-run shot that tied the game, 3–3.

Career High for Leiter

Rangers starter Jack Leiter did not factor into the decision of Sunday’s game despite registering a career-high seven strikeouts and limiting the Mariners to one run over six frames. He yielded seven hits, all of which were singles, as he held the opposition without an extra-base knock for the fifth time this season. Leiter threw 64 of his 88 pitches for strikes for a 72.7% strike rate, his highest single-game mark this season and 2nd-highest of his career.

After giving up the three runs in the 12th, Winn took the loss, bringing his record to 0–1 with an ERA of 1.59.

Castillo’s Afternoon

Mariners starter Luis Castillo registered his 10th quality start of the year in a no-decision. His final line was 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R-ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 106 pitches/66 strikes. The lone run he allowed came on the RBI single by Jung in the second inning, the only hit against Castillo with runners in scoring position.

He eclipsed 100 pitches for the fourth time in 2025, first since tossing a season-high 114 pitches on May 25 against the Houston Astros. Castillo has completed six innings in three of his last four starts.

Thornton earned the win after tossing two innings, allowing one run that was earned. He also walked two and struck out two. His record now sits at 2–0 with an ERA of 5.40.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy took his usual seat in the interview room as he reflected on the series as a whole. “When you have three extra-inning games, there’s always something to see,” he said. “It was a hard-fought series by both squads. A lot of good things happened. We had a couple of big home runs by Corey (Seager) and some good pitching. It just didn’t work in our favor this weekend.”