Kiner-Falefa hits walk-off single, Rangers beat Mariners 3-2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a walk-off single in the ninth inning after Texas rallied with the help of a video review, and the Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 Saturday night.

Elvis Andrus scored the tying run in the ninth after he was originally ruled out by home plate umpire Jansen Visconti. The play was overturned via replay review.

Andrus led off the ninth against Matt Magill (4-2) with his second double of the game and the first hit for Texas since his double in the third. After he went to third on Willie Calhoun’s ground out, Nick Solak grounded to short. Andrus broke on contact and beat Dylan Moore’s throw with a headfirst slide. Visconti ruled out, but crew chief Jerry Meals called for a review that overturned the play.

Solak reached first, then went to third when Dee Gordon misplayed Rougned Odor’s grounder for a two-base error. Danny Santana was intentionally walked, and Kiner-Falefa stroked the winning single to right-center.

Emmanuel Clase (2-2) pitched out of a jam in the top of the ninth to get the win, one night after earning his first big league save.

Prior to the ninth, the Mariners had received standout pitching from starter Tommy Milone, who gave up just three hits and one run in five innings. Matt Wisler, Taylor Guilbeau and Anthony Bass each threw a perfect inning before things unraveled in the ninth.

Daniel Vogelbach snapped a 1-1 tie in the sixth with an RBI single, scoring Tom Murphy, who had doubled with two outs.

Texas starter Brock Burke gave up seven hits and two runs over six innings in his third major league start. He has gone exactly six innings in all three starts and is the first pitcher in Rangers history to go at least six innings with two or fewer runs given up in each of his first three starts.

The Mariners scored first when Moore doubled to left with two outs in the second and came home on Gordon’s seeing-eye single to right.

Texas tied it in the third when Jose Trevino doubled to left and Andrus doubled to center.

The Rangers lost a challenge in the seventh inning when Odor tried to bunt his way on to lead off the inning. Guilbeau scooped up the bunt and flipped to Gordon covering to narrowly beat Odor – a decision the replay upheld.

THE NIGHT IS YOUNG’S

The Rangers retired Michael Young’s No. 10 in a pregame ceremony. Young, who played for the Rangers from 2000 to 2012, is the franchise’s leader in games played, hits and runs scored.

Some of Young’s former teammates attended the ceremony, including the last two Rangers to have their numbers retired: Ivan Rodriguez and Adrian Beltre. The loudest ovation was for former Texas manager Ron Washington, who guided Young and the Rangers to back-to-back World Series in 2010 and 2011. Washington, now a coach for the Braves, missed Atlanta’s game to attend the ceremony.

Rangers manager Chris Woodward is three months older than Young, and the two grew up together in Covina, California.

“The ultimate professional, the most prepared guy, the most competitive guy and the most selfless teammate,” said Woodward of Young. “That’s what I ask guys to be. How much can you impact the people around you?”

Young’s is the fifth number retired by the Rangers; the others are Nolan Ryan (34), Johnny Oates (26), Rodriguez (7) and Beltre (29).

UP NEXT

LHP Yusei Kikuchi (5-9, 5.36) will start for Seattle in the conclusion of the four-game series. The Rangers have not named a starter, but Woodward said LHP Brett Martin (1-2, 4.56) would probably get the nod.