Texas Rangers defeat Seattle Mariners 3-1 to sweep the series – MLB Update
The Texas Rangers completed the 4-0 sweep of the series by beating the Seattle Mariners 3-1 at Safeco Field on Sunday, July 17.
Mitch Moreland hit a homer and Matt Harrison threw unhittable innings to help the Rangers win their 11th consecutive wins.
"This whole streak we're on right now is really because of what they have done. They've been great," Mitch Moreland said. "When you are pitching like that it's fun to go out and play behind those guys and be a part of it."
The Rangers who won the first game by 5-0, 4-0 the second and remaining victorious in the third 5-1, did not falter here even for a fraction of second to take their winning streak to 11 and be the decisive winner in the four-game series.
“We were playing well and we expected ourselves to come out and play well," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "The first day of workouts (post break) showed they were ready."
Matt Harrison provided an ideal start to his team pitching a scoreless first inning. Harrison, who has played 18 games in this season, has 1.25 WHIP with 2.91 ERA in the 111.1 innings he has pitched so far.
The last ten games that the Rangers starter has appeared, his team has won seven of the games, losing only three. It was his effectively pitched innings that kept the Rangers in dominant position, adding to the Mariners’ woes.
While Harrison was unleashing his unplayable pitches on the seemingly weakening Mariners offence, Mitch Moreland struck a magical hit that brought about a new excitement in the game, proving beyond a doubt that the Rangers alone could prevail in the whole
series.
Moreland’s three-run homer against the Seattle starter Blake Beavan gave the Rangers an early 3-0 lead by the end of the second inning. This was his 12th home-run this season in his 81 games where he enjoys a .267 average with 74 hits and 39 runs.
Moreland’s presence in the last 10 games has given the Rangers eight victories compared to two losses that Texas bore. Nonetheless, the Rangers have – with each passing day in this season, established their dominance on the game.
While the 3-0 lead was in the favour of the Rangers, Matt Harrison continued pitching unplayable innings. Up until the eighth inning that Harrison pitched, none of the Mariners’ hitters could score.
Apart from Jack Wilson who singled to centre, allowing Josh Bard to score, bringing the lead down to 3-1, no other Seattle batter could play Harrison’s pitches with any ease.
Neftali Feliz came as a closer to pitch a shutout 9th inning to seal the 3-1 victory for the Rangers and sweep the four-game series 4-0 against the straining Mariners.
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