Eugenio Suarez drove in four runs to help force extra innings and the Seattle Mariners capitalized on a wild pitch in the 10th to edge the Texas Rangers 6-5 Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
Suarez, who homered in the fourth, laced a two-run, game-tying double off Matt Bush during a three-run Seattle ninth inning.
In the 10th, Abraham Toro started off the inning at second base, and after advancing to third on Dylan Moore’s groundout to second, Brock Burke (3-1) threw a wild pitch that deflected off catcher Jonah Heim’s glove. Toro scored easily with the decisive run.
Paul Sewald needed just six pitches to retire the Rangers in the bottom of the 10th, collecting his fourth save.
The Mariners took two of three in the series.
Texas had gained a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning on prospect Ezequiel Duran’s first MLB home run, which came in his second big league game.
In the eighth inning, Mitch Garver’s two-run homer off Sergio Romo put the Rangers ahead 5-2.
With one out in the ninth inning, Seattle’s Ty France smacked an opposite-field home run before Suarez laced his two-run double. Suarez went 3-for-4.
Texas also had solo home runs from Adolis Garcia and Marcus Semien.
Rangers’ starter Martin Perez, who was the American League Pitcher of the Month for May, yielded two runs in six innings. Perez hadn’t allowed more than one earned run since April 17 (three earned, four total) against the Los Angeles Angels.
Perez’s ERA did rise to 1.56, which now is second best in the major leagues, behind New York Yankees’ lefty Nestor Cortes’ 1.50.
Mariners’ rookie right-hander George Kirby matched Perez, also pitching sixth innings while allowing two runs. Kirby struck out three and gave up five hits in his sixth big league start.
Diego Castillo (3-0) earned the win for Seattle after working around a single and issuing three strikeouts in the ninth.
Suarez’s second home run of the series was the first long ball allowed this year by Perez, who had gone 66 1/3 homerless innings.
–Field Level Media