Odor's three-run double in 9th lifts Rangers

SEATTLE -- Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor's first at-bat of the season with the bases loaded came in a crucial moment and against a tough opponent.
Mariners closer Edwin Díaz entered Tuesday's game with a 1.59 ERA and a .109 opponents' batting average. But Odor had beat him with a big hit before, and he did so again, hitting a tiebreaking three-run double in the ninth inning to lift the Rangers to a 9-5 victory over the Mariners at Safeco Field.
On Aug. 30, 2016, Odor hit a walkoff home run against Diaz in Arlington.
"I'm just trying to do my best," Odor said. "He is a lot like me. He works hard and plays with a lot of energy. I like facing him."

The Rangers led, 5-4, entering the bottom of the eighth before the Mariners scored off reliever Chris Martin to tie the game. Seattle manager Scott Servais brought in Diaz to keep it tied, and that appeared to be the obvious choice. But Mariners relievers had allowed only one run in their previous 27 1/3 innings entering Tuesday, so they have more than Diaz out there.
Jurickson Profar started the Rangers' rally with a single to right-center field leading off the ninth. Diaz struck out Nomar Mazara, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa bounced a hit-and-run single through the right side, moving Profar to third. Diaz then walked Joey Gallo to load the bases for Odor.
Odor worked the count to 2-2, then went the opposite way, lining a fastball deep to left field beyond Denard Span for a double that put the Rangers ahead, 8-5. Right-hander Chasen Bradford took over for Diaz, and Ronald Guzmán also doubled, bringing home Odor.

"We've had some moments against Edwin Diaz in the past," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "I think any time he comes in, he raises the concentration level of all our guys. We started off with Profar with the big hit, Gallo, I thought, was a huge at-bat, drawing a walk. Rougned had a tremendous at-bat, driving the ball the other way. That is something that he has been working on quite a bit lately. For Guzman, it was a tremendous night."
Guzman, who entered on an 0-for-8 skid, went 4-for-4 with three RBIs. It was his first four-hit game since being called up on April 13, and the third time he has had three RBIs.
"I have been feeling good at the plate," Guzman said. "Sometimes, I feel good and don't get hits. But I am just trying to stay with the same approach and the same mentality."

The run allowed by Martin ended the Rangers bullpen's string of 14 consecutive scoreless innings. But they still have a 2.64 ERA in their last 22 games, holding opponents to a .217 batting average.
"It has been a great roll," Banister said. "Getting Chris back [off the disabled list] has allowed us to move some of these guys back into spots they are more comfortable. They have been doing a great job. The mix of guys and the different looks has been huge for us."
Rangers starter Austin Bibens-Dirkx allowed three runs in the first inning and four over 4 2/3 innings. He left trailing, 4-2, in his second start since being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock. Bibens-Dirkx will likely head back to Round Rock with the Rangers expected to activate Matt Moore off the disabled list to start against the Mariners on Wednesday.
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Capitalizing on mistakes: The Mariners were leading, 4-2, in the sixth, when the Rangers loaded the bases against Félix Hernández on a double by Mazara, a single by Kiner-Falefa and a walk by Gallo. Servais brought in left-hander James Pazos to face Odor. But Pazos' first pitch skipped past catcher Mike Zunino for a wild pitch, allowing Mazara to score. Odor swung and missed at the next pitch, but it got by Zunino for a passed ball, allowing the tying run to score. Odor struck out, but Guzman singled to put the Rangers ahead.

SOUND SMART
Shin-Soo Choo gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the first with his ninth home run of the season. He has reached base in 16 straight games, going 18-for-56 (.321) with four home runs during that span. He has also walked 18 times in that stretch, including twice Tuesday.
"I'm just swinging at my pitch," Choo said. "Early in the year, I was chasing a lot of offspeed pitches."

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
The Mariners had two runners on and two outs in the fifth, when Matt Bush took over for Bibens-Dirkx. Ben Gamel lined the first pitch from Bush into right-center, and Delino DeShields raced over and made a terrific catch to end the inning. According to Statcast™ it was a 4-star catch, as DeShields covered 44 feet in 3.3 seconds to make a play on a ball that had a 48-percent hit probability.

HE SAID IT
"Especially with two strikes, I'm just trying to get a hit, or move the runner over. I saw him take off, and the second baseman went to cover. I got a good pitch and put everything I had in my mind to hit it that way." -- Kiner-Falefa, on his hit-and-run single in the ninth
MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
DeShields acted like he was hit by a pitch from reliever Ryan Cook in the sixth, and home-plate umpire Jerry Meals agreed. That would have loaded the bases for the Rangers with one out. But Servais challenged the call, and it was overturned. The replay showed the ball hitting the bat for a foul, instead of DeShields, who ended up striking out.

UP NEXT
Moore (1-5, 7.99 ERA) is expected to come off the disabled list and start against the Mariners on Wednesday at 9:10 p.m. CT. Moore has been sidelined with soreness in his right knee and will be making his first start since May 18, when he allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings against the White Sox. Left-hander James Paxton (4-1, 3.10) pitches for the Mariners.