J.P. Crawford’s two-run double with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Seattle Mariners a 3-2 victory against visiting Texas on Thursday night, preventing the Rangers from clinching a playoff spot.
Julio Rodriguez homered for the Mariners (86-73), who pulled within a game of the idle Houston Astros (87-72) in the race for the American League’s third and final wild-card berth.
Leody Taveras and Adolis Garcia hit home runs for the Rangers (89-70), who lost for just the second time in their past nine games and were unable to clinch their first postseason trip since 2016. First-place Texas has a two-game lead on Houston and a three-game lead on Seattle in the AL West.
With a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Rangers brought in Aroldis Chapman to close it out.
However, Chapman (6-5) failed to record an out, allowing singles to Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore, throwing a wild pitch to advance both runners and then walking Ty France. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy turned to Jonathan Hernandez, who retired pinch hitters Mike Ford and Josh Rojas before Crawford lined a single on one hop off the wall in the left field corner to win it.
Mariners reliever Andres Munoz (4-7), who got the final out in the top of the ninth, earned the victory.
Both starters pitched six sharp innings.
Rangers left-hander Jordan Montgomery allowed one run on four hits. The left-hander walked two and fanned five.
Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert gave up just three hits, but two of them were solo homers. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five. Gilbert took a 2-0 loss against Montgomery and the Rangers on Saturday.
Gilbert retired the first seven batters he faced before Taveras homered to right-center field with one out in the third. Taveras’ 14th long ball of the year came on a 2-1 fastball that Gilbert threw right down the middle of the plate.
With two outs in the fourth, Garcia hit a 1-1 slider into the Mariners’ bullpen in left field to make it 2-0. It was Garcia’s 39th homer of the season.
Rodriguez led off the bottom of the fourth by hitting a first-pitch curveball the opposite way, just over the glove of a leaping Garcia in right field. It was Rodriguez’s 32nd homer.
The game was the opener of a four-game series that will conclude the regular season for both teams.
–Field Level Media