Latest Mariners-Rangers clash features AL West rivals headed in opposite directions

It really wasn't that long ago that the Seattle Mariners' 2025 season felt in danger of spiraling into a deep, dark place.

It was within a matter of days in early April that the Mariners saw their record fall to 4-8 and also suffered serious injuries to Victor Robles and Ryan Bliss. All this was happening as the rival Texas Rangers were surging in the American League West, resulting in a sizable gap in the two clubs' odds of capturing the division title at FanGraphs.

Cut to now, and here's how those odds are looking as the Mariners and Rangers prepare to renew their rivalry at Globe Life Field over the weekend:

• Rangers: 17.2 percent
• Mariners: 48.9 percent

"How the turntables," as they say. And while the Mariners can't stay hot forever — for anyone scoring at home, that's seven series victories in a row — the Rangers know all too well that there's at least one reason why they and Seattle are trending in opposite directions.

There's an obvious reason that the Mariners are surging while the Rangers are plummeting

The one constant as the Mariners have won 15 out of their last 20 games has been them scoring runs in bunches. They've averaged six per game during this stretch, and that's even with the club still waiting on Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena to get more consistent.

There's a sense of unsustainability to all this, what with the Mariners only batting .241 as a team and just .213 with runners in scoring position. Yet what numbers like those obscure is just how many opportunities this offense creates through power, speed, patience, and a hefty dose of risk-taking.

To wit, the Mariners are the first team in MLB history to tally 130-plus walks, 40-plus home runs, and 30-plus stolen bases through its first 30 games. And those stolen bases only account for a portion of the club's aggressive activity on the basepaths, which all stems from manager Dan Wilson's philosophy.

“It's wanting to get 90 feet more, or 90 feet closer to home,” Wilson said, per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com.

Meanwhile in Texas, the Rangers have managed only 3.1 runs per game amid a 7-12 stretch that began with a sweep in Seattle between April 11 and 13. Not having Corey Seager — who could return from a hamstring strain this weekend — hasn't helped, but their offensive struggles speak to a bigger problem.

When the Rangers won the World Series in 2023, they thrived on the sheer might of the home run ball. They're still trying to make that approach work in 2025, but are falling short with only 30 homers as a team. They're otherwise wasting a ton of at-bats, getting on base at a .285 clip that ranks 28th in all of MLB. If the Mariners have a maximalist offense, the Rangers have an all-or-nothing offense that has thus far been more "nothing" and less "all."

One advantage the Rangers do have is quality starting pitching. Their rotation leads the American League with a 2.93 ERA, with Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle and Jack Leiter rocking ERAs in the 1.00s and 2.00s. The Mariners figure to see two of those four this weekend.

That the Mariners are missing Logan Gilbert and George Kirby from their own rotation is but one reason for them (and their fans, for that matter) not to feel overconfident heading into this series. There's also the fact that, with Luke Raley and Dylan Moore joining Robles and Bliss on the IL in the past week, the Mariners' offensive depth is being stretched to its limits. If it was being maximalist by choice before, now it must do so out of necessity.

Yet any time a hot team and a cold team get together, you obviously want to be the hot team in the equation. And if the Mariners stay that way, they'll improve on an already impressive 9-3 record against AL West foes. Given how tiebreakers work, thus have they already gained an edge in what may end up being a close race for the division crown.

Game Times and Probable Pitchers for Mariners vs. Rangers, May 2-4

• Friday, May 2 at 5:05 p.m. PT: Bryan Woo vs. Jack Leiter
• Saturday, May 3 at 4:05 p.m. PT: Luis Castillo vs. Patrick Corbin
• Sunday, May 4 at 11:35 a.m. PT: Logan Evans vs. Jacob deGrom