Leclerc latest reliever to cost Rangers a win as Mariners rally to win series

The big wheel that selects which Texas Rangers reliever will surrender a late-innings lead landed on Jose Leclerc on Sunday afternoon.

The right-hander has been one of the pleasant surprises out of the bullpen this season, but his performance in the seventh inning in relief of Andrew Cashner really wasn’t all that surprising.

Leclerc fell into the bullpen bear trap, and now he is on the long list of relievers who have let down the Rangers over their first 32 games.

The Seattle Mariners took advantage of four walks in the seventh inning, three by Leclerc, to erase a three-run deficit, and Kyle Seager launched a solo home run an inning later off Sam Dyson to sink the Rangers 4-3 at Safeco Field.

After tossing six scoreless innings Friday in a 13-inning victory, the Rangers’ bullpen allowed eight runs over four innings Saturday and Sunday to give the Mariners an opening to win the three-game series.

“It’s very challenging and disappointing to say the least,” manager Jeff Banister said. “I’ll never throw my hands up. I’ll continue to stay in the fight with these guys.

“Is it frustrating? Yes. Is it problematic? Yes. However, once you get a lead, somebody’s got to come in, put a foot down and record some outs and stop giving away the free bags.”

Banister rightfully pointed out the inefficiencies of the offense with runners in scoring position, as the Rangers went 1 for 9 in those situations against emergency starter Dillon Overton and four relievers.

The Rangers did not drive in a run via a base hit, using two sacrifice flies and a groundout to build a 3-0 lead after six innings. Cashner allowed only four hits and two walks in six scoreless innings before walking Seager to start the seventh.

That free pass ended Cashner’s day at 94 pitches and brought in Leclerc, who has been dealing with a bruised index finger on his pitching hand. He immediately walked Taylor Motter before getting the next two batters.

Leclerc was ahead of No. 9 hitter Jarrod Dyson 0-2 in the count but ended up walking him. Three of the balls were wide of the strike zone and nearly flew past catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

Leclerc then walked Jean Segura to force in the Mariners’ first run.

The Mariners trumped the Rangers’ move to left-hander Alex Claudio by sending up right-handed pinch-hitter Danny Valencia. He lofted a broken-bat single to center that scored two and tied the game.

Seager went deep with one out in the eighth, sending Dyson to his fourth loss of the season on his 29th birthday. But the walks an inning earlier, all four of them, did in the Rangers.

The prevailing thought afterward was that Leclerc, a 23-year-old rookie, was overthrowing.

“I was a little pumped up,” he said.

Lucroy said that he is surprised by the bullpen’s struggles this season. The relievers now sport a 5.09 ERA and have allowed 15 home runs in 100  2/3 innings.

“I’d say that we definitely have some room to improve on some things,” Lucroy said. “I think youth is a factor. Inexperience is a factor. We’ve just got to do a better job all around of getting this guys through it. I’ve got to do a better job myself.”

The Rangers scored in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Gomez and a groundout by Shin-Soo Choo in the second after they put runners at second and third with no outs.

Delino DeShields made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly in the seventh after the Rangers loaded the bases with no outs.

Cashner finished with five strikeouts and has a 2.63 ERA after five starts, but he is still seeking his first victory with the Rangers.

The bullpen didn’t give him much help Sunday, though he pointed to his leadoff walk as a key factor in the Mariners’ comeback. Otherwise, he was pleased with his outing.

“I felt I had a really good game plan and executed well, but that walk got away from me,” Cashner said. “I feel like I’m getting stronger and stronger each outing. My sinker command was really good today, and I mixed in some sliders and some changeups.”

This story was originally published May 7, 2017 at 8:44 PM with the headline "Leclerc latest reliever to cost Rangers a win as Mariners rally to win series."