Mariners Edge Rangers
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SEATTLE — Nelson Cruz, the Seattle Mariners’ prized offseason acquisition, already had two home runs and four RBIs by the time he came to the plate in the ninth inning of a tie game against the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon, but he was in a foul mood.
Having struck out in each of his previous three at-bats, the latest one coming with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and Texas closer Neftali Feliz on the mound, Cruz stepped into the batter’s box after an intentional walk to teammate Robinson Cano with retribution on his mind.
The veteran right fielder delivered against Feliz, lining a two-out single into left field with the bases loaded for a walk-off hit that gave the Mariners an 11-10 win and their most impressive comeback of the season.
“It was nice,” said Cruz, who spent eight of his first 10 major league seasons with the Rangers. “It was a great win. We needed this one. We showed a lot of heart.”
Cruz also hit two home runs off Rangers starter Ross Detwiler to push his major-league-leading total to eight on the season. Even so, the Mariners (5-7) trailed 7-2 in the third inning and 10-5 heading into the eighth.
Cruz saved his best for last, delivering his third hit and fifth RBI of the game on a 2-2 pitch from Feliz, who threw 1 2/3 innings during his first blown save of the season. Cruz’s single scored left fielder
Seth Smith from third base for the winning run.
Over the past eight games, Cruz is hitting .484 (16-for-33) with eight home runs and 14 RBIs.
“I’m glad he’s on our side,” Mariners shortstop Brad Miller said. “I think we all knew he was going to come through there (in the ninth).”
Seattle piled up a season-high 17 hits, with Cruz and Cano each collecting three. Cano didn’t get a chance for his fourth hit of the game, as Feliz intentionally walked him with runners on second and third base to get to the right-handed-hitting Cruz.
Mariners center fielder Austin Jackson opened the bottom of the first inning with his first home run of the season and added the tying RBI on a ninth-inning single.
Texas (5-8) piled up a season-high 13 hits, matched its best run total of the year and knocked Seattle starter James Paxton out of the game before the end of the third inning. The Rangers sent 11 batters to the plate in that inning, piling up seven hits in the process on the way to a 7-2 lead.
Cruz’s second home run of the game pulled Seattle to within 7-5 in the bottom of the inning, but it took a meltdown by the Texas bullpen to help the Mariners complete the comeback.
Reliever Anthony Bass, who came on for Detwiler in the bottom of the third, kept the Rangers out in front until fellow relievers Tanner Scheppers and Keone Kela combined for four walks in the eighth inning to open the floodgates for a Seattle comeback.
Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager delivered a two-out, two-run single on a 3-2 pitch from Feliz to pull the Mariners within 10-9 in the eighth.
Jackson brought home the tying run with a one-out single in the ninth before Cruz delivered the game-winner.
“That game got away from us with four walks late,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “We’ve got to throw strikes. The guys have got to come in and be able to throw the ball across the plate — in the strike zone — and get outs.”
Texas left fielder Jake Smolinski, who had just one hit in 17 at-bats entering the game, homered in the third inning, while leadoff hitter Leonys Martin collected a two hits in the frame. Martin went 3-for-6 with a double, an RBI and a run in the loss.
Seattle reliever Yoervis Medina (1-0) earned the win after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth. Feliz (0-1) took the loss while throwing 47 pitches, the most he has ever thrown as a reliever.
“I asked a lot of him,” Banister said of Feliz. “I brought him in in a situation where the game was in the balance in the eighth, and it felt like we needed our best at the time against the heart of their lineup. He was still able to get out of it and still have the lead.”
The teams combined to go through 11 pitchers in a game that took 3 hours and 45 minutes.
The Rangers ranked last in the American League in team batting average (.201) heading into Sunday and were coming off a game in which they had just two hits and 15 strikeouts.
