RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Joc Pederson led a home-run barrage by the Texas Rangers in Monday’s 7-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Pederson hit home runs in the first and second innings off Mariners starter George Kirby, building a 4-1 lead. Ezequiel Duran and Jake Burger both went deep in the third to put the Rangers ahead 7-2.
Kirby allowed 7 runs — the most he’s given up this season — with 7 hits in 4 innings. His 3 strikeouts tied a season-low. With the performance, his ERA went from 3.57 to 3.98 and his record dropped to 8-9 with 107 strikeouts in 120 innings this season.
With the Mariners under .500 and struggling to keep pace with the Rangers in the AL West and wild-card races, Kirby has been attached to trade rumors recently. Asked if that that was a distraction as he pitched on Monday, Kirby said there was no issue.
“I don’t have Twitter, so I don’t see it,” Kirby told the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude .
Randy Arozarena hit his 13th homer of the season, while Julio Rodríguez and J.P. Crawford each drove in runs with sacrifice flies. But that wasn’t nearly enough on a day when Kirby was not at his best.
Pederson now has 19 homers for the season, tied with Burger to lead the Rangers. After being limited to 96 games in 2025 with a fractured right hand, the 13-year veteran is on his way to his third 20-homer season in the past five years.
On the pitching side, Kumar Rocker held the Mariners to 2 runs and 4 hits over 6 2/3 innings with 7 strikeouts. Since giving up 7 runs and 8 hits in a 9-3 loss to the Houston Astros on July 11, Rocker has allowed 2 total runs and 5 hits in his past two starts. His 4.03 ERA is now second among Rangers starting pitchers behind Jacob deGrom’s 3.67.
The defeat dropped Seattle to 52-55, 2.5 games out of first place in the division. The Mariners are also two games back from the AL’s third wild-card playoff spot in a jumble with the Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles.
Those aren’t insurmountable deficits, but losing three of four to the team Seattle needs to catch makes the task tougher. Up next, the Mariners visit the Los Angeles Dodgers so the climb doesn’t get any easier. Meanwhile, the Rangers face the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game set.
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