Mariners Bounce Back With Series Win Against Texas Rangers

Seattle Mariners
Written By Jeff Nooney

By Jeffrey Nooney

Seattle, WA - While the 2026 season has started slowly, the Seattle Mariners are hoping that some of their early struggles are behind them, at least at home. At T-Mobile Park, the Mariners boast a 9-5 record, following a series win over the Texas Rangers that wrapped up earlier today. Outside of T-Mobile Park, however, their record is a paltry 1-8, including getting swept by the Texas Rangers and the San Diego Padres. As of April 19th, Seattle sits just 1.5 games behind the Athletics and Rangers, who are tied for first place in the American League West with records of 11-11.

The offense has been underwhelming to start the season, but there have been some bright spots. The basic stats like batting average aren’t good for the Mariners, and the underlying numbers largely won’t make you feel much better. As a team, the batting average (.216) ranks 28th, while the slugging percentage (.347) ranks 26th. Just 6.1% of their hits have gone for extra bases, which ranks #28 in baseball. Catcher Cal Raleigh (.159), first baseman Josh Naylor (.146), and center fielder Julio Rodríguez (.209), the team’s three best hitters, are off to ice-cold starts, which can help explain why the offense has been anemic. Those guys will get going (hopefully sooner rather than later), and when they do, look for the team’s offensive numbers to skyrocket. Considering the production that Seattle has received from names at the bottom of the lineup like Cole Young and Luke Raley, and factoring in Brendan Donovan missing a handful of games, it isn’t like everything is bad for the Mariners at the plate.

Game one: Mariners lose 5-0

The Rangers got the series started with a leadoff home run in the top of the first inning, as offseason acquisition Brandon Nimmo took Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert deep. Nimmo, a longtime New York Met, was acquired in the offseason in a trade with the Mets in a rare 1-1 deal that sent infielder Marcus Semien back to the Mets. Texas tacked on its second run of the game in the third inning when Wyatt Langford singled, giving the Rangers a 2-0 lead. Texas would add one run in the seventh inning and two more in the ninth inning off the Seattle bullpen to fully pull away and take the series opener at T-Mobile Park, pushing the Mariners losing streak to four games coming off their sweep at the hands of the Padres.

This game was brutal for the Mariners, as the score shows. The offense did some good things, but overall, the Seattle bats just couldn’t get going. Even though the offense failed to score, they forced Texas to cover five innings with their bullpen. Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (1-0, 2.29 ERA) only made it through four innings and needed 88 pitches to do that. He gave up four hits, walked two, and struck out three. Unfortunately for the Mariners, the Texas bullpen came to play. Through five innings, they gave up just two hits, while walking three and striking out four.

The Seattle Mariners infield, catcher Cal Raleigh, and manager Dan Wilson surround starting pitcher Logan Gilbert during a mound visit, as the team hosted the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park on Friday, April 17th, 2026. (Photo by Andy Glass for Circling Seattle Sports)

Seattle starter Logan Gilbert (1-3, 4.03 ERA) needed 99 pitches to get through five and a third innings, not going deep enough in the game to earn a quality start. He allowed two runs on seven hits, walking one, and striking out seven. Even though it is still just April, and Logan has just five starts this season, his numbers are down from previous seasons. Logan has been getting hit hard in 2026. According to Baseball Savant, Logan sits in the 20th percentile for average it velocity (91.1 MPH) and 27th percentile for hard-hit percentage (45.4%). His groundball rate is also low (26th percentile, 36.4%). A low roundball rate and a high hard-hit rate are a deadly combination. His strikeouts per nine innings are two full strikeouts lower than in 2025 (11.9 in 2025 to 9.9 in 2026).

Game two: Mariners win 7-3

After being shut out in two consecutive games against the Rangers, the Mariners finally got on the scoreboard in a big way. Julio Rodríguez got things going with an RBI single in the first inning off Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. Dominic Canzone brought in two more runs in the fourth inning, giving the Mariners a 3-0 lead. Rangers third baseman Josh Jung put Texas on the board with a solo home run in the sixth inning, his second home run of the season. Luke Raley answered back in the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run of his own, giving the Mariners a 4-1 lead. The Mariners scored three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning from a two-run single off the bat of Cole Young and a sacrifice fly from infielder Leo Rivas, effectively putting this game to bed. The Rangers would score two in the ninth inning, before Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz had to come on to record the final out of the ballgame.

Seattle Mariners offensive highlights from their Saturday, April 18th, 2026, win over the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Aaron Benson for Circling Seattle Sports)

Seattle starter George Kirby (3-2, 2.97 ERA) got through five and two-thirds innings on 96 pitches. He allowed two runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out five. Kirby, like Gilbert above, gives up a lot of hard contact (hard hit 22nd percentile (47.3%). George’s average exit velocity sits at the 16th percentile (91.2 MPH), but the key difference between George and Logan is George’s ground ball percentage of 50.2% (95th percentile), almost a 14% difference. George is also striking out a career-low 7.3 batters per nine innings, which is 2.5 strikeouts down from last season’s 9.8. Furious George leads all of baseball with 33.1 innings pitched and has faced the most hitters this year (129). While the strikeout numbers are down, it is nice to see George get back to being a workhorse after missing significant time in 2025.

Game three: Mariners win 5-2

Sunday’s game felt like a “get right” game for a few of the Mariners. Rob Refsnyder, who was brought in as a free agent in the offseason, had not recorded a hit yet in 2026 until the first pitch in the first inning, when he clubbed his first home run as a Mariner. Refsnyder has been a known “lefty killer” throughout his career, but had been on a 0-18 start to begin the season. Rob had just gotten back with the Mariners after spending three days on the paternity list, as he and his wife welcomed their third child to the world. Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz earned his third save of the season, striking out the side in the ninth inning. This was just as much a “get right” game for Muñoz as it was for Refsnyder, as Muñoz had struggled to begin the season. An outing like Muñoz’s should build his confidence back up enough to return to an elite level.

Seattle Mariners offensive highlights from the teams Sunday, April 19th, 2026 win over the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)

After taking an early 1-0 lead, shortstop J.P. Crawford hit his first home run of the 2026 season, a two-run shot, giving the Mariners a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Randy Arozarena hit another two-run home run in the fifth inning, giving the Mariners a 5-0 lead. The Rangers scored two in the seventh inning, but the Mariners’ bullpen finished off the Rangers.

Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo (1-2, 2.25 ERA) earned his first win of 2026. Woo made it through the seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out six. Like Gilbert and Kirby, Woo has also been hit hard (43.8%, 33rd percentile). Woo’s groundball rate (34.8%, 21st percentile) is lower than Gilbert’s, but Woo has yet to give up a home run this season. Even with the high hard-hit numbers, Woo’s average exit velocity sits at 88 MPH (55th percentile). Chalk this up to a small sample size, as he has pitched just 32 innings this year.

What’s next?

The Mariners finish this homestand with a visit from the first-place Athletics for three games from Monday-Wednesday before heading back out on the road. The A’s have been a bit of a surprise to begin the 2026 season and come into Seattle with an 11-11 record. Their offense is carried by catcher Shea Langeliers, who is slashing .310/.376/.571/.948 with an OPS+ of 160. He also has six home runs and 12 runs batted in. 2025 rookie of the year first baseman Nick Kurtz is off to a slow start with a batting average of .225 and two home runs, but he leads the league in walks with 24. Known Mariners killer Brent Rooker will miss the series as he is on the injured list with an oblique injury, but he was off to a tough start before the injury.

Projected pitching matchups against the Athletics:

  • Monday, April 20th, 6:40 PM PDT first pitch: J.T. Ginn (0-0, 3.31 ERA) vs Emerson Hancock (2-1, 2.28 ERA)

  • Tuesday, April 21st, 6:40 PM PDT first pitch: Jacob Lopez (1-1, 6.38 ERA) vs Luis Castillo (0-1, 5.40 ERA)

  • Wednesday, April 22nd, 6:40 PM PDT first pitch: Aaron Civale (2-1, 3.54 ERA) vs Logan Gilbert (1-3, 4.03 ERA)

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Jeff Nooney
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