Seattle — Julio Rodriguez hit a three-run home run in the eighth to end Jacob deGrom’s return to the mound and lead the Seattle Mariners to a 5-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.
DeGrom, who returned from Tommy John surgery in April 2023, pitched 3 2/3 innings with the Rangers up 2-0 before leaving the game and the Rangers up 4-0.
Rodriguez started Seattle’s comeback with a double in the seventh, driving in two runs. The next inning, he homered for his 15th of the season on a two-out deep left fielder off David Robertson (3-4).
“I think that’s every player’s dream,” Rodriguez said. “Across leagues and sports, as a player, you want to be at the plate in that moment.”
JT Chargoa (3-1) earned the win with three strikeouts in the eighth, and Andres Munoz recorded his 21st save with a strikeout in the ninth.
DeGrom showed the speed and power that made him a two-time Cy Young Award winner, striking out four and allowing four hits in his first start since April 2023. He reached 98 mph at times, but when he reached the pitch count, he finished with two runners on base by the time he finished third.
“The last thing I’m trying to figure out is my slider,” deGrom admitted. “As you can see, it’s not as consistent as it usually is.”
Texas took advantage of a costly error by Emerson Hancock to build an early 2-0 lead. Hancock hit leadoff hitter Marcus Semien, who advanced to third on Josh Smith’s single. Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Chung hit two-out RBI singles to take a 2-0 lead.
Wyatt Langford hit a solo home run off Hancock to make it 3-0, his 11th of the season. Lowe added an RBI single in the seventh to make it 4-0.
DeGrom had a relatively easy fourth inning, but Josh Lalley doubled and Justin Turner singled to advance to third. Manager Bruce Bochy got one out on deGrom’s 61st pitch.
Relief pitcher Walter Pennington ended the inning with a groundout. Seattle struck back in the seventh after relief pitcher Jose Urena hit Victor Robles to start the inning. He allowed a double to Rodriguez to put runners in scoring position, and Carl Rolley’s sacrifice fly and Randy Arozarena’s RBI single made it 4-2.
Rodriguez took to the field early for batting practice and stayed focused all night, going 4-for-5 with three of his hits hitting velocities that topped 100 mph.
“That home run was a smash,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “It was huge, and it was a big hit right there. … There aren’t many pitches that hit that upper deck. It really launched.”
Bochy will send his third starter in a row on Saturday with Max Scherzer returning, but said he has no concerns about the bullpen.
“We’re going to do a report tomorrow to help Max,” Bochy said. “And we knew we needed that kind of report.”
Trainer’s Room
The Rangers have officially placed SS Corey Seager on the 60-day injured list. He will undergo season-ending sports hernia surgery.
Move list
To make room on the roster for deGrom, the Rangers sent right-hander Owen White to Triple-A Round Rock.
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Rangers RHP Scherzer (2-4, 3.89 ERA) was scheduled to make his first start since July after being on the injured list with a strained right shoulder and sciatica. RHP Logan Gilbert (7-11, 3.15) was scheduled to start for Seattle.
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