ARLINGTON, Texas (July 25) \u2014 The Texas Rangers<\/a> added extra padding to their division lead with a 7\u20131 victory over the Seattle Mariners<\/a>, Saturday. They now hold a 2 1\/2 game lead over the second-place Mariners in the AL West. Wyatt Langford<\/a><\/strong> did his part in this tilt with two doubles as part of a three-hit performance. The Rangers have a chance to win this four-game series Sunday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-handers Logan Gilbert<\/a><\/strong> (8\u20136, 3.38 ERA) and Jacob deGrom<\/a><\/strong> (7\u20136, 3.76 ERA) will go head-to-head in the matinee.<\/p>\n The Rangers got on the board quickly in the top of the first against righty Bryan Woo<\/a><\/strong>. After taking two consecutive foul balls off his left foot, Langford ripped a one-out double to left. Up next was Ezequiel Duran<\/a><\/strong>, who scored Langford with a triple that bounced past a diving Luke Raley<\/a><\/strong> in center before rolling into right. By the time right fielder Dominic Canzone<\/a><\/strong> got to the ball, Duran was already sharing a high-five with third base coach Corey Ragsdale. Brandon Nimmo<\/a><\/strong> drew a walk moments later, bringing up Evan Carter<\/a><\/strong>, who brought Duran home with a double down the line in left. That brought up Nicky Lopez<\/a><\/strong>. He plated Nimmo with a groundout to short.<\/p>\n The home nine stretched their lead to 5\u20130 in the bottom of the second. With two-outs in the frame, Joc Pederson<\/a><\/strong>, who collected his 1,000th career hit in Friday’s contest, singled to right. He quickly swiped his second bag of the season. On deck was Langford, who scored Pederson with his second double to left of the night. Langford scored soon after courtesy of a single up the middle by Duran.<\/p>\n The Mariners got one back in the top of the fifth off right-hander Nathan Eovaldi<\/a><\/strong>. Raley lined a two-out single to right. On deck was J.P. Crawford<\/a><\/strong>, who drove in Raley with a sharp double to right.<\/p>\n The Rangers added two more in the bottom of the seventh. With reliever Cole Wilcox<\/a><\/strong> on the mound, Carter trotted to first with a one-out walk. That prompted Mariners manager Dan Wilson<\/strong><\/a> to bring in Nick Davila<\/a><\/strong> to relieve Wilcox. With a 1\u20131 count, Carter jogged to second as the result of a balk committed by Davila. Moments later, Davila issued a free pass to Nicky Lopez<\/a><\/strong>. Both runners crossed the plate thanks to a double to center by Alejandro Osuna<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n This was one of those games where neither team featured any power. The Rangers scored all of their runs with contact. Duran and Langford had two hits apiece, creating several scoring chances. Carter also chimed in with an RBI double in the first. Pederson also had a nice night with a single, a stolen base, and a run scored. The Rangers also took advantage of the seventh inning balk by Davila. Osuna joined in the fun with an run-scoring double in the seventh as well.<\/p>\n The only hurdle the Rangers came across was RBI double by Crawford in the fifth.<\/p>\n Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi notched his 10th win of the year, tied for second-most in the AL behind only Sonny Gray<\/a><\/strong> of the Boston Red Sox<\/a>, who has 12. His line was 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R-ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 91 pitches\/61 strikes. Eovaldi has now reached 10 wins in each of his four seasons with the Rangers dating back to 2023. He is the first Ranger with four straight 10-win seasons since Rick Helling<\/a><\/strong> from 1998-2001.<\/p>\n He held the Mariners 1-for-8 with five strikeouts in his first pass through the order and was scoreless through 4 2\/3 frames until Raley and Crawford staged a two-out rally in the fifth to end the shutout bid. Eovaldi retired the final seven batters he faced on only 23 pitches. He has 47 strikeouts in his last 35 innings spanning across six starts (12.09 K\/9. Saturday was his 11th start of seven or more innings pitched, one or zero runs, and eight or more strikeouts for Eovaldi as a Ranger. His record now sits at 10\u20138 with a 4.05 ERA.<\/p>\n Mariners starter Bryan Woo took the loss to move to 7\u20137 after pitching five stanzas while allowing five runs, all earned, on nine hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. He yielded his most hits plus walks in a game this year. In the first, he was roughed up, allowing three runs on three hits and one walk in the opening frame. Woo was tagged for two more runs in the second on three straight two-out hits. He escaped trouble the next two stanzas, getting out of two-on and no-out situations in the third and fourth innings. Woo finished his night strong with his only 1-2-3 inning in the fifth. He is tied for sixth in the AL with MacKenzie Gore<\/a><\/strong> with 31 runs allowed since June 5.<\/p>\n After the game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker<\/a><\/strong> praised the efforts of both Eovaldi and Langford. “I think both just stepped up in a big game tonight,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a statement game. I’d say they both showed up in a big way in a big game in the middle of July. That’s the biggest takeaway for me. It’s one of the best games I’ve seen Evo pitch this year. Wyatt Langford, and really the top of the order was just fantastic, but Wyatt Langford set the tone. There is no doubt about it. Bryan Woo is tough on anybody, but especially right-handed hitters. Wyatt had three hits, a couple of doubles, especially after smashing a couple balls off his foot. It just shows you what kind of player he is.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\nMulti-Hit Night for Langford<\/h4>\n
Added Insurance<\/h4>\n
What Went Right for the Rangers<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Rangers<\/h4>\n
Quality Start for Eovaldi<\/h4>\n
Woo’s Outing<\/h4>\n
Schumaker’s Postgame Comments<\/h4>\n
Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>