Mariners Regain a Pulse with Series Win Over Texas

The Mariners took three of four at home against Texas to pull to within 4.5 games of the Wild Card playoff thanks to a solid outing from Taijuan Walker.

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The Mariners pulled their playoff hopes off of life support with a series win over the Texas Rangers at Safeco Field, culminating with a five inning, three run performance by Taijuan Walker for a win in the final game last night.

Kyle Seager added to his career year with his 27th home run of the year in the Mariners’ 6-3 win. Walker won his first game in ten weeks and put an end to his recent struggles. He was 0-4 with a 9.55 ERA in his last five starts and is now 5-10 on the year.

Dae-Ho Lee hit his 14th home run of he season, an opposite field knock, his first since July 31st. He is now hitting .394 since he returned to the Mariners after a ten-day stint in Tacoma to find his swing. Manager Scott Servais was very pleased with Lee after the game. He even said the 34-year-old Korean rookie “got his swag” back.

Catcher Chris Iannetta came through with a bases-loaded double off of Rangers starter Derek Holland in the third inning that scored two. Iannetta drew a rare start ahead of Mike Zunino, who had been seeing most of the playing time in recent games.

If the Mariners want to make up their 4.5 game deficit in the Wild Card chase with only 22 games left in the season, they’ll need more pitching performances like Walker’s. His stats from last night’s game don’t jump off the page, but limiting a loaded Texas lineup to three runs in five innings gave the M’s a chance to win the game. With the Mariners offense, all they need is decent starting pitching and good relief work. Easy, right?

Next: Gage Gubrud: The Real Deal?

The Mariners are under way against the Oakland A’s tonight, hoping to climb higher in the post season race.

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