Mariners fall to Rangers in opener of pivotal four-game series

Adam Jude, The Seattle Times on Jul 24, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ARLINGTON, Texas — Not the offensive resurgence the Mariners were looking for.

Not the result, either.

Jake Burger hit a two-run homer off Bryce Miller in the fourth inning and added the go-ahead single on the first pitch from Eduard Bazardo in the sixth inning, sending the Rangers to a 5-4 victory over the Mariners in the opener of their pivotal four-game series Friday at Globe Life Field.

The Rangers (52-51) extended their lead atop the AL West to 1.5 games over the Mariners (51-52), who have lost three in a row.

A day after the firing of assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes, the Mariners offense did show some early signs of life Friday, and they did finish with 10 hits.

Once again, though, they were unable to convert enough of those runners into runs.

Weston Wilson hit a sharp two-out single to right-center field to drive in Josh Naylor from second base to tie the score at 1-1 in the second inning.

The Mariners loaded the bases later in the inning against Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore but, once again, couldn’t come through with that one breakthrough hit they’ve desperately sought for weeks.

Gore got Randy Arozarena to ground out weakly to first base to strand the bases loaded.

Burger hit an opposite-field homer to right off Miller in the fourth inning — on a 96-mph, 0-2 pitch above the strike zone — to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead.

Dom Canzone answered for the Mariners with an opposite-field two-run double to left-center on a two-strike pitch, tying the score again at 3-3.

That helped chase Gore after five innings.

Miller was back out for the sixth inning, but his night was done after surrendering a single and a walk with one out.

On the first pitch Bazardo threw, Burger sent a ground-ball single — 85.7 mph off the bat — up the middle, just past a diving attempt from rookie shortstop Colt Emerson. That scored Brandon Nimmo to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead.

The next batter, Nicky Lopez, dropped down a perfectly placed squeeze bunt to score another run and make it 5-3.

Miller was tagged for a season-high five earned run in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed six hits with one walk and no strikeouts.