Mariners Drop Finale To Rangers, Lose 3 of 4

Apr 17, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Seattle Mariners designated hitter Robinson Cano (22) bats in the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Another tough loss for the Mariners today, as the Texas Rangers beat down Erasmo Ramirez and the rest of the Mariners bullpen in Arlington 8-6.

It was another rough outing for Erasmo Ramirez. The 23-year old right handed pitcher was only able to make it into the 3rd inning before being replaced by Dominic Leone.

In the bottom of the first Ramirez was able to get Shin-Soo Choo to ground out, but then gave up a double to Elvis Andrus, intentionally walked Prince Fielder, and gave up a double to Kevin Kouzmanoff bringing home Andrus.

The next batter, Mitch Moreland, singled to center field bringing in both Fielder and Kouzmanoff. After a shaky 1st, Erasmo gave up a solo shot to Choo in the 2nd inning.

After the first batter Kouzmanoff doubled deep off of Ramirez to start off the 3rd, manager Lloyd McClendon had seen enough.

Leone, Joe Beimel, Danny Farquhar, and Tom Wilhelmsen came on in relief, but could not slow down the Rangers offense. Leone gave up 2 runs in the 3rd off of hits by Moreland and J.P. Arencibia. Beimel gave up 2 more in the 5th handing another RBI by Arencibia and allowing Donnie Murphy to score off of a wild pitch.

Farquhar and Wilhelmsen finished out the game nicely. Wilhelmsen got himself out of a bases loaded jam in the 8th inning, not giving up a run.

The Mariners and Rangers were both hot offensively today; the teams combined for 14 runs and 22 hits. Seattle had an amazing 3rd inning with Robinson Cano and Corey Hart hitting back-to-back home runs (see below), followed by Dustin Ackley who doubled deep to center driving in Nick Franklin and Justin Smoak.

Here’s the box score for todays game:

Batting

Seattle

Batting

2B – B Miller (3, H Noesi); C Hart (1, H Noesi); D Ackley (4, H Noesi)

HR – R Cano (1, 3rd inning off T Scheppers 2 on, 0 Out), C Hart (4, 3rd inning off T Scheppers 0 on, 0 Out)

RBI – R Cano 3 (8), C Hart (6), D Ackley 2 (9)

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – A Almonte 1, K Seager 1, N Franklin 1

Team LOB – 8

Fielding

E – J Buck (1, throw); T Wilhelmsen (1, throw)

DP – 1 (N Franklin-J Smoak)

Texas

Batting

2B – E Andrus (4, E Ramirez); K Kouzmanoff 2 (5, E Ramirez 2); M Moreland (3, D Leone)

HR – S Choo (1, 2nd inning off E Ramirez 0 on, 2 Out)

S – L Martin 2

RBI – S Choo (4), K Kouzmanoff (6), M Moreland 3 (7), J Arencibia 2 (3)

2-out RBI – S Choo, K Kouzmanoff, M Moreland 2

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – S Choo 1, P Fielder 1, K Kouzmanoff 1, J Arencibia 1

GIDP – K Kouzmanoff

Team LOB – 9

Running

SB – E Andrus 2 (6, 2nd base off E Ramirez/J Buck, 2nd base off T Wilhelmsen/J Buck), A Rios (4, 3rd base off D Leone/J Buck)

Fielding

DP – 1 (P Fielder-E Andrus)

Pitching

Seattle

Texas

WP – J Beimel

IBB – P Fielder 2 (by E Ramirez, by T Wilhelmsen)

Pitches-strikes – E Ramirez 62-35; D Leone 34-22; J Beimel 18-13; D Farquhar 30-20; T Wilhelmsen 26-12; T Scheppers 66-39; H Noesi 34-24; P Figueroa 20-15; J Frasor 19-11; A Ogando 11-8; J Soria 15-13

Ground balls-fly balls – E Ramirez 5-2; D Leone 3-2; J Beimel 2-0; D Farquhar 3-3; T Wilhelmsen 3-0; T Scheppers 5-3; H Noesi 0-2; P Figueroa 3-2; J Frasor 1-1; A Ogando 1-3; J Soria 2-0

Batters faced – E Ramirez 14; D Leone 9; J Beimel 5; D Farquhar 8; T Wilhelmsen 5; T Scheppers 16; H Noesi 9; P Figueroa 5; J Frasor 4; A Ogando 4; J Soria 3

Game Details

Game Time: 3:28.

Umpires: HP–Will Little. 1B–Paul Schrieber. 2B–Mark Carlson. 3B–Ted Barrett.

Weather: 57 degrees, Rain.

Wind: 5 mph, In From Right.

Attendance: 29,024.

PLAY OF THE GAME:

Robinson Cano hit his first home run as a Seattle Mariner. He and Corey Hart had a nice sequence going back-to-back in what we hope will be the first of many to come.