Rangers Take Series Opener Against Mariners

Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

April 6, 2026

Rangers 2, Mariners 1

ARLINGTON, Texas (Apr 6) — The Texas Rangers notched their first victory on their home field in 2026, beating the Seattle Mariners, 2–1, on Monday evening. An RBI double by Jake Burger in the sixth inning helped propel the Rangers to a very satisfying win over their division rivals. They will aim for the series win on Tuesday in the middle game with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. It will be a marquee duel of righties as George Kirby (1–1, 3.75 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Mariners, while Nathan Eovaldi (0–2, 11.42 ERA) will get the ball for the Rangers.

Cal Strikes Early

The Mariners broke the seal in the top of the first with Jacob deGrom on the bump. With one out in the inning, Cal Raleigh blasted a 3–2 pitch to the seats in right. This prompted many of the 23,901 Ranger fans in attendance to donate to their respective swear jars. It was the result of an intense 12-pitch at-bat.

The Rangers answered back in the bottom half of the first against righty Logan Gilbert. With one out, Wyatt Langford lined a double to left. That brought up Corey Seager, who scored Langford with a single to right to tie things at one all.

The score remained the same until the bottom of the sixth. Seager stepped in with two away. He reached on a sharp single to left. A wild pitch from Gilbert to Burger allowed Seager to scamper to second.

Seager crossed the plate moments later, thanks to a double to left by Burger.

What Went Right for the Rangers

One of the things that stood out in this game was the fact that the Rangers tied the game almost immediately. They’ve had their share of difficulties against the Mariners, so this alone was a step forward. Seager’s RBI single in the first got the fans talking.

Their bullpen also did a nice job of keeping any added runs off the board all night.

What Went Wrong for the Rangers

The only thing that went wrong for the Rangers is that Mariners manager Dan Wilson penciled Cal Raleigh’s name into the No. 2 spot. His homer in the top of the first loomed large.

Nice Night for deGrom

In his 250th career start, right-hander Jacob deGrom allowed one hit over his five innings but did not factor into the decision. The one hit was the solo home run to Raleigh – deGrom’s second batter faced of the evening. Following the Raleigh long ball, Mariners hitters were 0-for-14 with one walk against deGrom, as he faced one batter over the minimum in that stretch. Monday marked deGrom’s ninth career start of five or more innings pitched and one or zero hits allowed– his second such outing with the Rangers.

Reliever Jalen Beeks took over in the sixth and allowed one walk to earn his first win of the season. Jakob Junis earned his first save after pitching a spotless ninth.

Quality Start for Gilbert

Mariners starter Logan Gilbert got his first Quality Start of 2026, but left with the Mariners trailing 2–1. He was saddled with his second loss of the season, bringing his record to 0–2 with an ERA of 5.40. His final line was 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R-ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 96 pitches/65 strikes. He set season-highs in innings pitched and pitches thrown. Gilbert retired 15 of 17 hitters from the first through sixth innings before the Rangers broke the 1–1 stalemate on back-to-back hits from Seager and Burger with two outs in the sixth.

‘Pen Pals

The relief quintet of Beeks, Junis, Tyler Alexander, Cole Winn, and Robert Garcia tossed four scoreless innings. Over its last three games, the Rangers’ bullpen has permitted only one earned run in 12 frames for the season. Their relief corps owns a 1.83 ERA, having entered play today with the AL’s lowest ERA and the third-lowest ERA in baseball behind the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets.

Schumaker’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker commented on deGrom’s performance. “It was a really good lineup he was going up against,” he said. “He’s been doing this for such a long time at an elite level. In my book, he’s a future Hall of Famer, and for good reason. He was pretty electric today. His fastball was up to 97, 99 mph and he had a really good slider and changeup. The home run by Cal (Raleigh) didn’t seem to faze him that much, and that was really good for his mentality.”