The Rangers’ much-anticipated series against two division leaders on the West Coast concluded on a disappointing note with a 5-0 loss to the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

This defeat marks the third time this season that Texas has been swept, with their latest setback inflicted by their AL West rivals. The Rangers’ struggles in Seattle are evident, having won just one of their last 12 series in the city dating back to July 2019.

In their encounter with Seattle’s right-handed pitcher Logan Gilbert, Texas managed only two hits for the second time this season. Andrew Knizer secured the first hit with a two-out single in the third inning, while Nathaniel Lowe followed up with a powerful two-out double in the fourth. Despite these moments, the Rangers failed to capitalize further, retiring quietly after each hit.

Gilbert showcased his dominance by pitching eight scoreless innings, extending his streak to 14 2/3 scoreless innings against the Rangers this season.

Reflecting on the series, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged the formidable performance of Seattle’s starting pitchers, emphasizing the importance of finding ways to score runs against tough opposition. Despite their efforts, the Rangers struggled to generate offense throughout the series, ultimately falling short against a strong Seattle pitching staff.

Seattle faced no such struggles at the plate, capitalizing on opportunities against Rangers starter Dane Dunning. Dunning conceded two runs on four hits and three walks, all of which occurred with two outs.

The turning point came during the second time through the batting order, as Mitch Haniger smashed a powerful two-out double to left field at an impressive 111.3 mph in the fourth inning. This was followed by Luke Raley’s RBI double, further adding to the Mariners’ offensive output. In the subsequent inning, the trend continued as Josh Rojas delivered another crucial hit with two outs, doubling and then scoring from second base on a wild pitch. The pitch bounced sharply off the backstop behind home plate, nearly skipping into the first-base dugout.

Reflecting on his performance, Dunning attributed the damage to lapses in execution, particularly with two outs. While acknowledging the quality of the hits by Haniger and Raley, Dunning felt he executed his pitches well in those instances. However, he acknowledged that in hindsight, he could have opted for a different approach against Rojas, perhaps opting for a cutter up in the zone to disrupt his timing.

That seemed to be the prevailing pattern throughout the entire series. Despite facing a Mariners lineup that entered the weekend batting just .206 with two outs, which ranked third-worst in baseball, the Rangers found themselves allowing nine runs on 13 hits, 10 walks, a hit batter, and three wild pitches when just one out away from escaping the inning.

Reflecting on the performance, Dunning acknowledged that while giving up hits is inevitable, the real issue for the pitching staff was the 10 walks surrendered. He emphasized the importance of minimizing walks, as they result in free bases and extended at-bats, ultimately leading to uncompetitive situations. Dunning, who contributed three walks himself, expressed concern over this aspect of the team’s performance, recognizing the need to improve in this area to achieve greater success on the mound.

And with the way Texas’ bats have struggled, just a couple of crooked numbers put the game out of reach. After Lowe’s fourth-inning double, Gilbert and reliever Austin Voth retired the final 16 Rangers in order to end the game.