Rangers can't break the George Kirby curse as offense sputters in loss to Mariners

Q: Why did the Texas Rangers lose to the Seattle Mariners?

The Rangers lost primarily due to their inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities, leaving 13 runners on base, and facing a dominant performance from Mariners pitcher George Kirby.

Q: What is George Kirby's record against the Texas Rangers?

George Kirby has a remarkable record of 7-0 against the Texas Rangers in Seattle, with an impressive ERA of 0.20 before this game.

Q: How did Nathan Eovaldi perform in the game against the Mariners?

Nathan Eovaldi pitched into the sixth inning, allowing a solo home run but ultimately helped the Rangers by saving the bullpen from overuse.

Q: What are the Rangers' goals for the next game against the Mariners?

The Rangers aim to win the series in Seattle for the first time since May 2023 and complete their 10-game road trip with a balanced 5-5 record.

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi looks to the outfield after allowing a solo home run against Seattle Mariners' Luke Raley during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Seattle. (Lindsey Wasson/AP) SEATTLE — Truth be told, Saturday’s game was probably decided in the first inning. And the Rangers knew it. Otherwise they might not have played the infield in three batters into the game. This is what happens when they face George Kirby. No active pitcher has dominated Texas the way Kirby has. The numbers, particularly in Seattle, are mind-numbing. So, the fact the Rangers ultimately lost 7-3 was hardly surprising. In fact, once Julio Rodriguez, the third batter in the bottom of the first, singled past a drawn-in infield to score a run, the Mariners’ chances of winning jumped to 66%, according to Fangraphs. Which is why Saturday quickly became about meeting other priorities, namely getting the weary bullpen as much rest as possible. There is still a series to win and a 10-game road trip to split, which is all you can really expect of a 10-game road trip. No use spending a lot of energy chasing lost money on Saturday. Sometimes, when viewed through the lens of the full season rather than a singular game, other objectives can be equally important. On Saturday, they met at least one. Nathan Eovaldi got them to the sixth. soaked up the last three innings, even if he was leaking oil at the end. The rest of the bullpen got a rest. “Cal really saved us today,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “He saved the bullpen. And that’s what we had to do. We had a ton of guys down and he gave us 60-plus pitches.” There were things the Rangers could have done better. Leaving 13 runners on base once in a month is unfortunate, but on back-to-back days is kind of troubling. They left the bases loaded three times, including to end the game when struck out as the potential tying run. made a throwing error when he perhaps tried to do too much with a ground ball when outs were at a premium. Maybe the umpires cost the Rangers a run, refusing to allow a ball-strike challenge on a play that included a stolen base. Schumaker talked to the umpires twice about that, including after the final out and was still looking for clarification. He believes the rule states that a player can’t challenge until the play is completed, which is what Quantrill did. He still was pretty convinced he was right after the game. But, on the other hand, the Rangers did force Kirby out of the game before the end of the sixth, which is something they hadn’t done in Seattle since 2022. They kept applying pressure to relievers, forcing Seattle to use two of its higher-leverage arms, and Jose Ferrer on back-to-back days and forcing the Mariners to bring in closer Andres Munoz. Bullpen depth tilts in favor of the Rangers for the finale. The bullpen needed the rest. had thrown on three consecutive days and on back-to-back days. Rookie Gavin Collyer, and had all thrown twice in the last three games, all using more than 30 pitches. The status of Robert Garcia remains uncertain due to his shoulder impingement. With the exception of Garcia, the full bullpen should be available on Sunday. And given the Rangers' results against Kirby, looking for other objectives made some sense. While they did beat him in Arlington last week — though Kirby pitched a complete game in the process — the chances in Seattle were woefully worse. He entered the game 7-0 in Seattle against Texas with a 0.20 ERA in 43 innings. After homered in the sixth a batter before he left the game, Kirby’s ERA against the Rangers in Seattle jumped to 0.36. It was the first home run the Rangers have hit off him in T-Mobile Park. So, see, they are getting to him. That, perhaps, is way Schumaker played the infield in three batters in. Forget runs, plural, being at a premium. One run was valuable enough. Playing the infield in so early said a lot about that. “I thought it was going to be tough to score runs against Kirby; that’s fair,” Schumaker said. “I thought the shadows early on were going to be a factor. They did a good job.” The Mariners met their objective. They won the game. On Sunday, though, the Rangers can meet a bigger objective: Win a series in Seattle for the first time since May 2023. In the five series since, they had gone 3-14 at T-Mobile. They can also complete this 10-game road trip with a 5-5 record and return to Arlington with a commanding lead in the season series, which could just come in handy come the postseason. And that’s ultimately the Rangers objective.