Rangers recap: Mariners overpower Texas as bullpen falters again

The Seattle Mariners beat up on the Texas Rangers’ bullpen for the second consecutive day Wednesday afternoon. This time it was closer Shawn Tolleson who took the brunt. The Mariners scored five times in the ninth to rally for a 9-5 win at Globe Life Park. Seattle won Games 2 and 3 to take the series. The Rangers open a four-game set against the Angels in Anaheim on Thursday.

Pitching: Colby Lewis allowed three runs on six hits, including two homers, in six innings. He walked three, including two in the first inning. Robinson Cano’s two-run homer gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead after one. Former Rangers outfielder Leonys Martin homered to right with two outs in the second to make it 3-0. Lewis struck out four. Keone Kela started the seventh but left with the bases loaded and two outs after two singles and a walk. Jake Diekman walked Kyle Seager, the only batter he faced, to drive in a run and pull the Mariners to within 5-4. Sam Dyson replaced Diekman with the bases loaded and Cano at the plate. Dyson pitched the eighth and after a one-out walk induced a 6-4-3 double play. Shawn Tolleson started the ninth and failed to retired a batter. Tolleson allowed five hits, including a run-scoring double by Martin and a two-run homer by Cano that gave Seattle a 9-5 lead. Cano had four homers in the series and two in the game.

Hitting: The Rangers pulled to within 3-2 with two runs in the second. Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor singled and scored on Justin Ruggiano’s hustling double to left field. Mariners starter Wade Miley retired 11 consecutive batters between the second and fifth inning. In the sixth, however, Shin-Soo Choo and Ian Desmond started with singles before Prince Fielder belted a 437-foot three-run homer to right field to give the Rangers a 5-3 lead. Beltre followed with his second single before Miley struck out Odor, Ryan Rua and Ruggiano to end the inning. Miley was charged with five runs on seven hits and struck out seven in six innings before Nick Vincent replaced him in the seventh.

Notable: Desmond, playing center field for the first time, made his first catch in the outfield for the first out in the sixth ... Texas batters struck out 11 times ... Catcher Bryan Holaday, who started his first game with the Rangers, threw out two base runners trying to steal second base ... Diekman is the first pitcher to appear in each of the Rangers’ first three games since Darren Oliver in 2010.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Rangers recap: Mariners overpower Texas as bullpen falters again."