Despite Andrew Heaney delivering strong pitching and the Rangers hitting multiple home runs, they suffered a defeat against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.

Baseball is a game where many things can go well, but also where many things can go awry. Sometimes, even when everything seems to be going right, unexpected outcomes can still occur.

If you’ve found it challenging to grasp this concept, the Texas Rangers’ 4-3 defeat against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday at Globe Life Field could provide a fitting illustration.

He’s not entirely mistaken. Among instances of well-executed baseball that didn’t swing in the Rangers’ favor:

Starting pitcher Andrew Heaney delivered six efficient innings, striking out seven batters, issuing no walks, and throwing 59 of his 79 pitches for strikes. It marked his longest outing of the year and his cleanest since his season debut against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 2. However, a pair of two-run home runs — one to Ty France in the first inning and another to Luis Urias in the fifth — turned an otherwise solid start into a loss. “Solo homers don’t beat you,” remarked Heaney. “Two-runs can.”

In a similar vein, two out of the Rangers’ three runs came from solo home runs. Nathaniel Lowe, in his fifth game back since returning from the injured list, sent a Luis Castillo slider into the Texas bullpen, giving the team a 1-0 lead. Batters had only hit .100 against Castillo’s slider this season. Then, in the fourth inning, Josh Smith smashed a Castillo fastball into the right-field stands for his first home run of the season, knotting the score at 2.

Why didn’t the Rangers have more baserunners? Partly due to some tough luck. The team’s three hardest-hit balls resulted in four outs. Adolis Garcia hit a groundball at 111.8 mph in the third inning, resulting in a double play for the Mariners. Wyatt Langford, one at-bat after Smith’s home run in the fourth, lined out to Luis Urias at third base with a drive clocked at 108.8 mph. Additionally, Corey Seager’s flyball in the first inning carried an exit velocity of 108.6 mph and an expected batting average of .770, but was caught by right fielder Mitch Haniger at the wall.

Even the Rangers’ bullpen, which began the day with the ninth-worst ERA in baseball (4.36), performed admirably. Cole Winn extended his scoreless and hitless streak to six innings in his major league career and struck out four batters. Josh Sborz, activated from the injured list on Thursday morning, pitched a flawless ninth inning.

“I’m feeling really confident,” expressed Winn, a former first-round draft pick who boasts a 7-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his initial four MLB outings. “It’s been quite a journey, but my sole focus out there is executing pitches, and I’m succeeding more often than not at the moment.”

Despite a surge in late-game offense, the team couldn’t muster one more run to equalize the score. Langford capitalized on an error in the seventh inning, ultimately scoring on a Marcus Semien single, narrowing Seattle’s lead to 4-3. Seager, with runners at the corners, attempted to check his swing on a high fastball from Gabe Speier, but third base umpire Dan Merzel judged that he had crossed the plate, resulting in a strikeout to conclude the inning.

“The game was a clean ballgame,” Bochy said. “We hit some hard balls … Adolis smokes that ball, double play, things like that.”

Texas, largely, has successfully treaded water and maintained a winning pace with three starting pitchers (Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle) an All-Star third baseman (Josh Jung) and Gold Glove, Silver Slugger-winning first baseman (Lowe) on the injured list for either the entirety or majority of the regular season.