
No. 2 scorer Stojakovic returns to loaded Illinois
Andrej Stojakovic is back at Illinois for his senior year, boosting their title hopes!
The Texas Rangers face the Seattle Mariners in a crucial three-game series starting April 17, 2026. Both teams are vying for dominance in the AL West, with the Mariners needing to rebound after a recent sweep by the Padres.
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The series games are scheduled for April 17 at 6:40 pm, April 18 at 4:15 pm, and April 19 at 1:10 pm.
The Mariners will start Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Bryan Woo, while the Rangers will send Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and MacKenzie Gore to the mound.
The Rangers split their previous series with the Sacramento club, maintaining a competitive position in the AL West.
The Mariners need to win to reset their position in the AL West standings and avoid falling behind in the season series against the Rangers.

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| Time |
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| Mariners Starter |
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| Rangers Starter |
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| Mariners Win% |
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| Rangers Win% |
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| Game 1 | Friday, April 17 | 6:40 pm | RHP Logan Gilbert | RHP Jacob deGrom | 57.2% |
| Game 2 | Saturday, April 18 | 4:15 pm | RHP George Kirby | RHP Nathan Eovaldi | 58.4% |
| Game 3 | Sunday, April 19 | 1:10 pm | RHP Bryan Woo | LHP MacKenzie Gore | 59.8% |
| Overview | Rangers | Mariners | Edge | ||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | ||
| Batting (wRC+) | 92 (12th in AL) | 113 (2nd in AL) | Mariners | ||
| Fielding (FRV) | 21 (3rd) | -29 (12th) | Rangers | ||
| Starting Pitching (FIP-) | 91 (1st) | 100 (7th) | Rangers | ||
| Bullpen (FIP-) | 94 (6th) | 97 (10th) | Rangers | ||
| While the bullpen has thinned with injuries to RHPs Luis Curvelo and Chris Martin, the Rangers look otherwise as they were a week ago. Time with the Dodgers and Athletics left them licked but not battered, and their series split with Sacramento left both clubs tied atop the AL West. Not yet standout, but stable, Texas looks like around a .500 club in the early going. That’s been better than the rest of the division, but without much ascension it keeps the M’s fully in range for resetting the table. | |||||
| Player | Position | Bats | PA | K% | BB% |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Brandon Nimmo | RF | L | 652 | 21.6% | 7.7% |
| Wyatt Langford | LF | R | 573 | 26.4% | 12.9% |
| Corey Seager | SS | L | 445 | 19.6% | 13.0% |
| Jake Burger | 1B | R | 376 | 24.7% | 3.2% |
| Evan Carter | CF | L | 220 | 18.6% | 8.6% |
| Joc Pederson | DH | L | 306 | 21.2% | 11.1% |
| Josh Jung | 3B | R | 511 | 25.2% | 5.3% |
| Josh Smith | 2B | L | 563 | 17.8% | 9.8% |
| Danny Jansen | C | R | 337 | 25.5% | 12.5% |
| From a previous series preview: | |||||
| *The Rangers brought in Brandon Nimmo this off-season and so far he’s proved a valuable pickup, providing thump and on-base for the Rangers out of the leadoff spot. Wyatt Langford, hitting out of the two-hole, has been slower to get it going, but you know that, like with some of the Mariners’ own struggling stars, it’s just a matter of time. Corey Seager, batting third, has continued to be Corey Seager, and Jake Burger, with two homers on the year already (aka the same number Cole Young has), bats cleanup. The Nimmo-Langford-Seager-Burger set gives the Rangers, who are pretty evenly balanced handedness-wise (Must Be Nice), a nice L-R-L-R punch at the top of the lineup.* | |||||
| *Beyond that things get a little murky: Evan Carter is off to a strong start, but buried in the bottom of the lineup for some reason. The two Joshes (Jung and Smith) and Ezequiel Duran are in a time-share among the non-Seager infield positions. Joc Pederson continues to exist to make Rangers fans Mad Online. So far, this is looking similar to Rangers teams of the past, but Nimmo at the top of the lineup is an x-factor, much like Donovan is for the Mariners. Hopefully the Mariners will be getting their x-factor back for this series.* |
| Team | W-L | W% | Games Behind | Run Diff | Recent Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers | 10-9 | 0.526 | +12 | W-W-L-L-W | |
| Athletics | 10-9 | 0.526 | -10 | W-L-W-W-L | |
| Angels | 10-10 | 0.500 | 0.5 | +7 | W-L-W-L-W |
| Mariners | 8-12 | 0.400 | 2.5 | +4 | W-W-L-L-L |
| Astros | 8-12 | 0.400 | 2.5 | -10 | L-L-W-W-L |
| For as annoying as getting swept was by a NL club, the consequence was a single lost game out of first place, albeit two clubs sharing that space. As noted, the Rangers and A’s share the top of the table, with Sacramento hosting the plucky-but-still-sucky ChiSox for three before jetting up to Seattle next week. Anaheim, meanwhile, takes their turn with the Padres in Orange County after a showcase series split in the Bronx that saw Mike Trout go slug for slug with Aaron Judge. Houston is back home as well, hosting the Cardinals in a former NL Central rivalry that always carries the front office edge of St. Louis’ data stealing scandal against the Astros over a decade ago. Those Redbirds are outdoing expectations in the early going, based heavily upon a breakout campaign from 24 year old OF Jordan Walker. |