Two-run homers from J.P. Crawford and Dylan Moore led the Mariners to a 5-4 win at Globe Life Field on Friday night in a tough back-and-forth matchup against the Rangers.
In the top of the second with Crawford on first, Moore stepped to the plate and ripped a two-run blast to tie the game at 2.
Coming into Friday’s matchup, Moore had been struggling this season, hitting .129 with two home runs through 100 plate appearances. Collectively, the Mariners have been struggling offensively, but they recorded 10 hits Friday, including three-hit performances from Crawford and Kyle Lewis. Mitch Haniger put Seattle up for good with his RBI single in the seventh.
“We’re hunting everybody’s fastball," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "Dylan Moore's home run to get us back in the game there early [was key]. A lot of good at-bats up and down the lineup tonight. You got to hit the fastball in this league, no question about it."
Down by two in the fourth inning, the Mariners were looking for some offense to cut down on the Rangers’ lead. Ty France came out with a leadoff double to left field, giving Crawford a chance to tie the game at 4. He did so with a line-drive shot over the right-field wall. The home run was Crawford’s first of the season.
“I was putting together good ABs early in the season, just wasn’t getting the results that I wanted. So I knew it would come eventually. I'm just going to keep putting together good ABs,” Crawford said.
Crawford hit fifth in the order Friday, the first time he has done so in his career. Although he has delivered solid production at the plate, he isn't known as a power hitter. In his five-year career, Crawford has just 13 home runs. He finished Friday going 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
“To J.P.’s credit, he's made adjustments. He’s focused on trying to stay through the ball, stay inside balls. [He has done] the little things you have to do throughout the year based on how you're feeling. And that’s what pros do,” Servais said. “J.P. Crawford has grown up in front of us. You see it every night ... the leadership, how he takes control of our infield and the confidence has grown in the batter’s box. So really happy for where he’s at.”
Servais stated that Crawford has made several minor adjustments to his offensive game in an effort to get more comfortable in the batter's box. Servais switched up the order Friday and stated how the Mariners’ new-look lineup may be here to stay after their 10-hit performance.
Crawford's homer slowed the Rangers’ momentum after they had built a two-run lead off Chris Flexen with four runs in the first three innings on seven hits and one walk, the last run coming on a deep Nate Lowe home run to center field. Flexen, however, recorded a 1-2-3 fourth and rode the offensive momentum to a 6 1/3-inning start.
“Definitely early on, struggles with executing. I was able to just find a way and get it done,” Flexen said. “Got some big defensive plays, but I got punched and our offense punched right back. Our bullpen did one hell of a job slamming the door for our team. Good team win.”
Perhaps helping to spur him forward, Flexen picked off Adolis García for the second time in the game to end the third inning. Flexen is the first Mariners righty to have two pickoffs in a game since Félix Hernández on Aug. 26, 2016.
Flexen put all of his pitches on display, but batters swinging and missing at 45% of his changeups helped give him a boost in the late innings. He finished with 10 hits and four runs allowed, adding two strikeouts. Following his performance, the Mariners’ bullpen was lights out to finish the game thanks to Anthony Misiewicz and Kendall Graveman.
“A lot of good things offensively, but I got to give a ton of credit to Chris Flexen tonight. It didn’t start out that great early for him early in the ball game, they were kind of on everything,” Servais said. “I give him and [catcher] Tom Murphy a ton of credit for hanging in there, making some adjustments, and he's able to run off the fourth, fifth and sixth [with some] really nice innings to settle the game down. [Then] our bullpen [coming] in on the white horse again is a heck of a job.”
Servais discussed how pleased he was with the bullpen’s success and is hopeful that after Friday's offensive performance, the team will be clicking on all cylinders going forward.
“Our guys show up to play every day. They’re working really hard, they believe in what we’re doing and they believe in each other and you see it. We don’t quit. We just keep battling,” Servais said.