Deadspin | Nothing comes easily for M’s ahead of finale vs. Rangers 
Apr 14, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo (22) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images At some point this season, the Seattle Mariners will coast to a victory.
It appeared that might be the case on Saturday, when they carried a six-run lead into the ninth inning against the visiting Texas Rangers.
But nothing has been easy for these Mariners.
Closer Andres Munoz, who blew a four-run lead in a 7-6 loss Wednesday at San Diego, was forced to make an entrance in the ninth on Saturday with two outs and the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate.
Munoz struck out Brandon Nimmo for the final out in a 7-3 victory as the Mariners beat the American League West co-leaders for the first time in five meetings this season. The current three-game series will conclude Sunday afternoon in Seattle.
“It feels a lot better,” said Munoz, comparing Saturday to his previous outing. “We still have a lot of work to do. I’ve been working a lot these (last) couple days to get to this point. Obviously, we are not there yet, but it makes me feel a lot better that we are going in the right direction.”
Seattle’s George Kirby (3-2) allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings in improving to 9-1 in his career starts against Texas. Luke Raley homered as the Mariners snapped a four-game skid.
Josh Jung went deep for the Rangers, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Texas had its chances on Saturday, going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaving 16 on base.
“We kept putting pressure on, had the right guys up, the hot hitters up and just couldn’t get that big hit,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “I loved the battle, loved the at-bats. We did not chase today, for the most part, against a really tough pitcher.”
The Mariners were without third baseman and leadoff hitter Brendan Donovan, who left after the third inning Friday with discomfort in his left hip.
Donovan, who had offseason surgery for a sports hernia, has missed time with hip and groin issues this season.
“It’s something that you have to closely monitor and keep watching,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “It’s a big surgery, and he did a great job of getting through it, getting through spring training, and the slow ramp-up in spring training. Now that we’re into the season, it’s just continued monitoring.”
Sunday’s series finale will feature Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore (2-1, 3.00 ERA) against Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (0-2, 2.16).
The two squared off April 8 in Arlington, Texas, with Gore and the Rangers winning 3-0. Gore pitched five scoreless innings of one-hit ball with nine strikeouts while Woo gave up one earned run (three overall) on five hits over five frames.
Gore, who suffered a 2-1 loss to the host Athletics on Tuesday in West Sacramento, Calif., is 2-0 with an 0.50 ERA in three career starts against Seattle.
Woo, who lost 4-1 Tuesday at San Diego despite pitching seven solid innings, is 2-3 with a 4.12 ERA in eight previous starts vs. the Rangers.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #easily #ahead #finale #Rangers
Apr 14, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo (22) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images At some point this season, the Seattle Mariners will coast to a victory.
It appeared that might be the case on Saturday, when they carried a six-run lead into the ninth inning against the visiting Texas Rangers.
But nothing has been easy for these Mariners.
Closer Andres Munoz, who blew a four-run lead in a 7-6 loss Wednesday at San Diego, was forced to make an entrance in the ninth on Saturday with two outs and the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate.
Munoz struck out Brandon Nimmo for the final out in a 7-3 victory as the Mariners beat the American League West co-leaders for the first time in five meetings this season. The current three-game series will conclude Sunday afternoon in Seattle.
“It feels a lot better,” said Munoz, comparing Saturday to his previous outing. “We still have a lot of work to do. I’ve been working a lot these (last) couple days to get to this point. Obviously, we are not there yet, but it makes me feel a lot better that we are going in the right direction.”
Seattle’s George Kirby (3-2) allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings in improving to 9-1 in his career starts against Texas. Luke Raley homered as the Mariners snapped a four-game skid.
Josh Jung went deep for the Rangers, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Texas had its chances on Saturday, going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaving 16 on base.
“We kept putting pressure on, had the right guys up, the hot hitters up and just couldn’t get that big hit,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “I loved the battle, loved the at-bats. We did not chase today, for the most part, against a really tough pitcher.”
The Mariners were without third baseman and leadoff hitter Brendan Donovan, who left after the third inning Friday with discomfort in his left hip.
Donovan, who had offseason surgery for a sports hernia, has missed time with hip and groin issues this season.
“It’s something that you have to closely monitor and keep watching,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “It’s a big surgery, and he did a great job of getting through it, getting through spring training, and the slow ramp-up in spring training. Now that we’re into the season, it’s just continued monitoring.”
Sunday’s series finale will feature Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore (2-1, 3.00 ERA) against Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (0-2, 2.16).
The two squared off April 8 in Arlington, Texas, with Gore and the Rangers winning 3-0. Gore pitched five scoreless innings of one-hit ball with nine strikeouts while Woo gave up one earned run (three overall) on five hits over five frames.
Gore, who suffered a 2-1 loss to the host Athletics on Tuesday in West Sacramento, Calif., is 2-0 with an 0.50 ERA in three career starts against Seattle.
Woo, who lost 4-1 Tuesday at San Diego despite pitching seven solid innings, is 2-3 with a 4.12 ERA in eight previous starts vs. the Rangers.
–Field Level Media
![No contract was signed with Muzarabani for PSL stint, but verbal agreement was reached: PCB The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) admitted that no contract was ever sent to Blessing Muzarabani to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) but insisted that a firm verbal agreement was reached with the Zimbabwe pacer and he had breached the trust while joining the Indian Premier League (IPL).The PCB recently imposed a two-year ban on Muzarabani from playing in the PSL claiming he breached a contract with Islamabad United and joined IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders.The fast bowler’s agent, Rob Humphries tore into the PCB on Sunday in a social media post for the ban and claimed his client neither took part in the PSL players auction nor signed any contract with Islamabad United.Humphries said the ban was excessive and unjustified.READ | Muzarabani banned from PSL for two years after signing IPL contractBut sources in the PCB while conceding no contract was signed with Rabbani claimed that a clear verbal agreement between both the parties was reached.The source said this was also clear in the PCB announcement about the ban that despite a clear offer and an unequivocal acceptance of essential terms, the player chose to disregard these obligations in favour of a conflicting arrangement.The PCB source said once essential terms — including remuneration and structure — are agreed upon through written correspondence, a binding obligation is formed.But Humphries said after talks began with Islamabad United it had made it clear that unless it had a contract they couldn’t apply for an NOC from the Zimbabwe Cricket.“We’ve remained quiet publicly over the last six weeks because we did not wish to create or cause anymore animosity for the Pakistan Super League/Pakistan Cricket Board than they had already created for themselves,” Humphries’ statement said.“[On] 13 February, Blessing [was] approached by Islamabad United about a playing opportunity for the 2026 PSL. The deal [was] agreed subject to obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Zimbabwe Cricket.“An NOC cannot be obtained without a contract from the PSL. Islamabad United/PSL announced the signing to the world via social media,” it said.Humphries further urged the PCB to gracefully withdraw the ban and accept this situation risen out of an administrative error at its end.Muzarabani was taken by Islamabad as a replacement for West Indian pacer Shamar Joseph for USD 40,000.Published on Apr 19, 2026 #contract #signed #Muzarabani #PSL #stint #verbal #agreement #reached #PCB](https://i2.wp.com/ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/q4l6wd/article70881506.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/PTI04_13_2026_000435B.jpg?ssl=1 "No contract was signed with Muzarabani for PSL stint, but verbal agreement was reached: PCB The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) admitted that no contract was ever sent to Blessing Muzarabani to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) but insisted that a firm verbal agreement was reached with the Zimbabwe pacer and he had breached the trust while joining the Indian Premier League (IPL).The PCB recently imposed a two-year ban on Muzarabani from playing in the PSL claiming he breached a contract with Islamabad United and joined IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders.The fast bowler’s agent, Rob Humphries tore into the PCB on Sunday in a social media post for the ban and claimed his client neither took part in the PSL players auction nor signed any contract with Islamabad United.Humphries said the ban was excessive and unjustified.READ | Muzarabani banned from PSL for two years after signing IPL contractBut sources in the PCB while conceding no contract was signed with Rabbani claimed that a clear verbal agreement between both the parties was reached.The source said this was also clear in the PCB announcement about the ban that despite a clear offer and an unequivocal acceptance of essential terms, the player chose to disregard these obligations in favour of a conflicting arrangement.The PCB source said once essential terms — including remuneration and structure — are agreed upon through written correspondence, a binding obligation is formed.But Humphries said after talks began with Islamabad United it had made it clear that unless it had a contract they couldn’t apply for an NOC from the Zimbabwe Cricket.“We’ve remained quiet publicly over the last six weeks because we did not wish to create or cause anymore animosity for the Pakistan Super League/Pakistan Cricket Board than they had already created for themselves,” Humphries’ statement said.“[On] 13 February, Blessing [was] approached by Islamabad United about a playing opportunity for the 2026 PSL. The deal [was] agreed subject to obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Zimbabwe Cricket.“An NOC cannot be obtained without a contract from the PSL. Islamabad United/PSL announced the signing to the world via social media,” it said.Humphries further urged the PCB to gracefully withdraw the ban and accept this situation risen out of an administrative error at its end.Muzarabani was taken by Islamabad as a replacement for West Indian pacer Shamar Joseph for USD 40,000.Published on Apr 19, 2026 #contract #signed #Muzarabani #PSL #stint #verbal #agreement #reached #PCB")
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