The struggling Rangers mustered just two hits until the ninth inning and lost to the Mariners, 6-3, in the series opener on Friday night at T-Mobile Park. Texas has now lost three in a row and dropped to 13-24.

Rangers manager Chris Woodard said that he plans to ensure that the club doesn’t give up on the season, which has about three weeks remaining.

• Box score

“We’ve had a lot of conversations,” Woodward said. "... We changed up on our routine a little bit. We’ve tried a lot of different things right now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really show on the field. I know these guys are frustrated. We can’t let it snowball and let the frustration take over. I felt the guys were a little frustrated tonight. They were trying and they knew what to expect."

In fact, the Rangers couldn’t do anything against Mariners starter Yusei Kikuchi, who pitched six innings, allowed two hits and struck out seven. Texas never had a runner in scoring position with Kikuchi on the mound. The only time the Rangers scored was in the fifth inning when catcher Jose Trevino hit a solo shot to left.

“We couldn’t get anything going," Woodward said. "We knew what Kikuchi was going to do. He threw the fastball with the cutter and we kept pounding it in the ground to the pull side. We have to find a way to put a little more pressure on the opposing team. Basically, we had one homer and one baserunner until the ninth inning.”  

Right-hander Kyle Cody was on an pitch count cap after having Tommy John surgery. He pitched three innings and allowed one unearned run. After walking Kyle Seagar in the third, Cody’s throwing error allowed Seagar to advance to second base, then he scored on a single by Ty France.

By the fifth, Rangers left-hander John King was on the mound, making his Major League debut. He allowed a two-run double to Evan White to make it a 3-0 game. 

The Mariners added to their lead in the eighth inning, when J.P. Crawford hit a three-run homer against left-hander Taylor Hearn. 

The Rangers’ bats showed life by scoring two runs in the ninth inning off reliever Yoshihisa Hirano, on Nick Solak's sacrifice fly and Joey Gallo's RBI single, but it was too little, too late. 

“Hopefully, we will get some bats rolling and play a complete game -- pitch, hit and field at the same time. We have a chance to win some games,” Woodward said.