Surging Mariners aim for sweep against Rangers

The team with the largest divisional lead in the American League might come as a surprise.

That team, the Seattle Mariners, extended their edge over the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers to 7 1/2 games in the AL West with a 7-5 victory Saturday night.

The Mariners will attempt to sweep the three-game series in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of tracking down the Mariners. “You’re in this division, still have to look at Houston and this club. They’re a solid team; they were right there last year. You know they’re playing well. They have got a really good staff, and you have to play your best ball and execute when you’re playing against them.

“That’s a team that has had a lot of success in the last couple of years. They play good defense; pitch well and then catch it.”

Julio Rodriguez hit a two-run homer for Seattle on Saturday, and starter George Kirby allowed one unearned run and three hits over six innings. Josh Rojas went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs and also scored three times as Seattle won for the sixth time in its past seven games.

Rojas led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run and added a two-run single in the eighth as the Mariners built a 7-1 cushion.

They needed nearly all of it as the Rangers rallied in the ninth.

Texas scored one run before loading the bases. Pinch-hitter Josh Smith walked, and Marcus Semien hit a two-run single down the right-field line to pull the Rangers within two. Corey Seager’s hard one-hopper was smothered by diving Seattle rookie first baseman Tyler Locklear to end the game.

“They have a really good offense, and you just got to pile it on as much as you can the whole game because you know at any point they can put together an inning like they did there in the ninth,” Rojas said.

Added Mariners manager Scott Servais: “They hit some balls, they found some holes, and I don’t want that to overshadow all the positives today, and there really was a lot.”

The most important of those was Rodriguez’s two-run blast to deep left-center off Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi in the third inning. It was Rodriguez’s second homer in the past three games, and he has seven home runs and 29 RBIs for the season.

“He’s starting to come (around),” Servais said. “As the weather heats up, Julio starts to heat up with it. I just love the fact he pulled the ball in the air. I think that pitch this year, we have seen him right on it and just miss it or pop it up probably at least 10 times. And he didn’t miss it.”

In the series finale on Sunday, the Rangers are scheduled to start Dane Dunning (4-5, 4.80 ERA) against Seattle’s Logan Gilbert (3-4, 3.19) in a matchup of right-handers.

Dunning is 3-3 with a 4.67 ERA in nine career starts against the Mariners. He suffered a 4-0 loss to them on April 23 in Arlington, Texas, lasting 4 1/3 innings and giving up four hits and all four runs.

Gilbert got the victory that day with 6 2/3 innings of two-hit ball and is 3-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 11 career starts against the Rangers.