SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 18: Cal Quantrill #44 of the Texas Rangers pitches during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on April 18, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images Mariners 7, Rangers 3At least the Rangers scored an earned run off of George Kirby.That hadn’t happened in a long, long time.Overall, though a frustrating game. The pitching wasn’t great, and the offense had lots of opportunities but didn’t cash in.All that leads to a loss.For the second game in a row, a veteran Rangers starter struggled to miss bats against the Mariners, resulting in a shorter-than-desired outing.

Nathan Eovaldi needed 25 pitches to get through the first inning, when the Mariners took a 1-0 lead, then 22 pitches to get through four batters in the second. In the first nine batters there was a 10 pitch at bat against Eovaldi, a nine pitch at bat, and an eight pitch at bat.A six pitch third got things a little back on track, though Seattle scored twice more off of Eovaldi in the fourth. Eovaldi started the sixth, but allowed a homer to Luke Raley and a single to Dominic Canzone, leading Skip Schumaker to go to the pen.Cal Quantrill pitched the final three innings, starting off strong, striking out the first three batters he faced, but being touched up for three runs in the eighth inning.

At that point, though, the Rangers were just trying to avoid using another arm in a bullpen that has carried a heavy load on this road trip.Somehow, the Rangers picked up 11 hits and eight walks and yet still only scored three runs. One of those was a Josh Jung homer, the aforementioned earned run off of George Kirby. The other two came in the ninth, when the Mariners were using Cole Wilcox to protect a six run lead.

The Rangers chased Wilcox and forced Seattle to use Andres Munoz, so I guess that’s a moral victory, if you’re into that sort of thing.Three hits for Wyatt Langford, who continues to show signs of pulling out of his slump. Two hits and a walk for Josh Jung, who is suddenly one of the Rangers’ best hitters. Three hits for Ezequiel Duran, who has a mysterious ability to hit George Kirby, and who is suddenly sporting a 769 OPS on the season.A whopping 16 runs left on base by the Rangers.

That includes leaving the bases loaded in fourth, after one out singles by Joc Pederson and Josh Jung, and a walk to Evan Carter, set the stage for a potentially big inning. A Duran shallow fly out and a Kyle Higashioka F8 ended things with no runs, though.Texas loaded the bases again in the seventh on three walks, but once again couldn’t cash in. Despite scoring the two runs they left the bases loaded in the ninth, as well, with Brandon Nimmo striking out as the tying run to end the game.I’m getting annoyed again.

Let’s stop thinking about it.Nathan Eovaldi’s fastball reached 96.1 mph, averaging 93.8 mph. Cal Quantrill’s fastball touched 95.3 mph.Ezequiel Duran had a 111.5 mph double and a 106.9 mph single. Jake Burger had a 109.2 mph ground out.

Josh Jung had a 107.8 mph single and a 106.4 mph home run. Kyle Higashioka had a 106.4 mph ground out. Wyatt Langford had a 104.7 mph single and a 103.8 mph single.

Josh Smith had a 103.5 mph single. Joc Pederson had a 101.2 mph single.One more game on the road trip, and then the Rangers get a much needed off day.