Texas Rangers defeat Seattle Mariners 3-1 at Safeco Field – MLB Update
Texas Rangers defeated Seattle Mariners 3-1 at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington on Tuesday, May 22 in the second game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season. In some ways, the win will be of great importance for the
Rangers who have struggled to execute their game plan over the last couple of weeks.
Justin Smoak made a significant impact on the game as he singled to left in the first inning to help the Mariners take 1-0 lead. The Rangers responded immediately with Elvis Andrus triple to deep centre in the third inning.
Josh Hamilton, once again, proved the value he brings to the table. He hit a ground rule double to left in the third to give the Rangers a crucial 3-1 lead. The Mariners had plenty of opportunities afterwards to get themselves back into the contest but the
Rangers held on to their slim lead to seal an emphatic win.
"We got four hits and we made them all count. Sometimes you have to win ball games like that," Washington said. "I feel like we can win ball games any kind of way, and tonight took that to win it. It took some good pitching and some good defense."
"I knew that I was just a little bit off, and I knew if I got frustrated it would only get worse," Matt Harrison said. "I was able to get out of the inning, and then from then on I backed
off a little bit with my fastball and started hitting my spots."
Rangers’ Manager Ron Washington and company are still one of the strongest teams in the American League but considering the quality and depth in their offence and pitching rotation, the fans don’t expect them to lose.
Seattle made the most of available opportunities in the opening game to secure a comfortable 6-1 win and it was extremely important for Texas to control their unforced errors to keep the series alive. It will be interesting to see if the Rangers can floor
the Mariners once more to earn an important series win.
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