SEATTLE (AP) — Julio Rodriguez homered to become the first player in major league history with 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four seasons, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Sunday.
Rodriguez hit a two-run shot in the third inning — his 100th career homer — and the slugging and speedy center fielder also added his 21st stolen base of the season after singling in the fifth inning.
Jorge Polanco added a solo shot in the second and shortstop J.P. Crawford smacked a two-run blast in the fourth against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (10-4), who became the fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts by games and innings on Sunday.
The Rangers kept things close by pushing across three runs against Mariners starter Logan Evans (5-4), but only tallied one run against the Mariners bullpen before closer Andrés Muñoz locked down his 25th save of the season.
Key moment
Sam Haggerty pinch-ran for Joc Pederson with one out in the ninth inning and attempted to steal second base while Wyatt Langford was batting. Haggerty was initially ruled safe, but following a replay review was ruled out. Langford struck out swinging immediately after to end the inning.
Key stat
Sunday was the first time deGrom has allowed three home runs or more in a game since Sept. 30, 2022, against the Atlanta Braves while he was a member of the New York Mets.
Up next
Rangers left-hander Patrick Corbin (6-7, 3.78) starts Monday evening against the New York Yankees. The Mariners are off Monday, but right-hander Bryan Woo (8-6, 3.11) will start against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
