Rodríguez hits 3-run homer in 8th, Mariners beat Rangers 5-4 to spoil deGrom’s return

SEATTLE (AP) — Julio Rodríguez hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning to help spoil Jacob deGrom’s return…

SEATTLE (AP) — Julio Rodríguez hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning to help spoil Jacob deGrom’s return to the mound and send the Seattle Mariners to a 5-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

Back after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2023, DeGrom left after 3 2/3 innings with a 2-0 lead and the Rangers had a 4-0 advantage.

Rodríguez began Seattle’s rally with a double in the seventh that set up two runs. Then in the next inning, he hit his 15th homer of the season to deep left field with two outs off David Robertson (3-4).

JT Chargois (3-1) struck out three in the eighth for the victory, and Andrés Muñoz struck out one in the ninth en route to his 21st save.

DeGrom struck out four and gave up four hits in his first game since April 2023, showing some of the speed and power that has made him a two-time Cy Young Award winner. He reached 98 mph occasionally, but left before finishing the third with two runners on base when he reached his pitch count.

Texas built a 2-0 lead early, capitalizing on a costly Emerson Hancock mistake to start the game. Hancock hit leadoff batter Marcus Simien, who moved to third on Josh Smith’s single. Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Jung delivered two-out RBI singles for a 2-0 lead.

Langford made it 3-0 with a solo home run off Hancock, his 11th of the season. Lowe added an RBI single in the seventh to make it 4-0.

DeGrom was having a fairly easy outing until the fourth when Josh Raley doubled and moved to third on Justin Turner’s single. Manager Bruce Bochy pulled deGrom one out later on his 61st pitch.

Reliever Walter Penington ended the inning with a ground out. Seattle rallied in the seventh after reliever José Ureña hit Victor Robles to start the inning. He gave up a double to Rodríguez to put runners in scoring position and Cal Raleigh’s sacrifice fly and Randy Arozarena’s RBI single made it 4-2.

TRAINER’S ROOM

The Rangers officially moved SS Corey Seager to the 60-day injured list. He will undergo season-ending sports hernia surgery.

ROSTER MOVE

To make space for deGrom on the roster, the Rangers optioned RHP Owen White to Triple-A Round Rock.

UP NEXT

Rangers RHP Max Scherzer (2-4, 3.89 ERA) was set to make his first start since July after a stint on the injured list because of shoulder and nerve pain in his right arm. RHP Logan Gilbert (7-11, 3.15) was scheduled to start for Seattle.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb