In Arlington, Texas, Julio Rodríguez had an impressive performance, hitting a home run on the first pitch and contributing a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth inning to lead the Seattle Mariners to an 8-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. The Mariners are now just 1 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the third AL wild card spot, with Detroit trailing by a half-game.

This win marked the seventh leadoff homer of the season for the Mariners and the first for Rodríguez, coming off Dane Dunning, who was filling in for the scratched Max Scherzer. Scherzer, dealing with a left hamstring strain, has been placed on the 15-day injured list, ending his season. Josh Smith hit a two-run homer for the Rangers, whose loss ensured a seventh losing season in the last eight years.

Rodríguez, who collected four hits and four RBIs in the game, helped Seattle solidify its lead with consecutive run-scoring singles off José Leclerc in the sixth inning, with Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena also contributing RBIs. Arozarena made a game-saving catch in the sixth inning, preserving Seattle’s lead.

Austin Voth’s strikeout of Smith with runners in scoring position in the eighth inning was crucial, and Emerson Hancock picked up the win after allowing two runs in five innings for the Mariners. In terms of injuries, Victor Robles of the Mariners was sidelined with an injured finger, while the Rangers’ Josh Jung has been out of the lineup due to wrist soreness.

The series finale will see Seattle’s Bryan Woo facing off against Texas’ Andrew Heaney in what will be Texas’ final home game of the season.