ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Nick Solak singled three times and drove in three runs, leading the Texas Rangers to a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.
Solak had a two-run single in the first and an RBI hit in third, when Willie Calhoun added another run-scoring single. Calhoun’s hit scored slugger Joey Gallo, who was hit by a pitch twice and walked his other two times up.
Left-hander Mike Minor allowed an infield single and three walks with four strikeouts in four scoreless innings but was pulled after 76 pitches with the Rangers trying to solve a dip in velocity from his previous start.
Manager Chris Woodward said before the game he wanted to get Minor out before the velocity dropped again in hopes of restoring longer outings for the 32-year-old with a history of shoulder problems. The Rangers said Minor had no issues.
“He talked me into going back out for the fourth,” Woodward said after the game. “It wasn’t a health concern to not let him go back out. It was just more of what we had talked about before the game. Still tried to beg me to go out for the fifth. I had to be the bad guy to not let him.”
Minor’s fastball stayed in the low 90 mph range after dropping into the 80s when he allowed five runs in five innings in a 6-4 loss at Oakland. His ERA was 6.89 coming into the game.
“Arm felt better. Body felt better,” Minor said. “I felt more free and easy.”
Edinson Volquez (2-1) was awarded the win by the official scorer after replacing Nick Goody and allowing a single before getting the final out the fifth inning. Goody replaced Minor and allowed both Seattle runs, one of them unearned.
Joely Rodríguez, Jonathan Hernández and Rafael Montero combined to retire the final 12 Seattle hitters, with Montero getting his third save.
Kyle Seager singled twice to become the active player with the most hits against Texas at 179. He passed Mike Trout (177). J.P. Crawford had the only RBI for the Mariners on a fifth-inning single.
Seattle starter Marco Gonzales (2-2) gave up seven hits and four runs in five innings.
“I thought our at-bats were really good early in the game,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “We didn’t get the big hit. Their bullpen threw really well and had good stuff and they executed. So that’s going to happen on certain nights.”
COVID-RELATED ROSTER MOVE
The Rangers put right-handed reliever Luke Farrell on the injured list because of close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19. The son of former Toronto and Boston manager John Farrell has tested negative for the virus. The close contact didn’t occur outside his home. Farrell has no record and a 13.50 ERA in three appearances.
Texas signed infielder Derek Dietrich to a major league contract and added him to the active roster while selecting left-hander Wes Benjamin from the alternate training site. Right-hander Jimmy Herget and infielder Anderson Tejeda were optioned to the alternate training site. First baseman Greg Bird was activated and designated for assignment.
TURNING BACK TIME
Starting Aug. 24, the Rangers are going back to 7:05 p.m. starts local time for the seven remaining games against West Coast teams that had been scheduled for 8:05 p.m. Central time. The original change was made for fans in the Pacific time zone during the pandemic-shortened season, with the reciprocal agreement of 6:05 p.m. Pacific starts when Texas played out West.
Texas requested the switch back for its TV viewers and radio listeners (no fans are allowed in stadiums). It was approved by Major League Baseball and the visiting teams. The switch affects four games against Oakland, two against the Los Angeles Angels and one against the Dodgers.
4-BASE ERROR STANDS
The Rangers had their appeal denied over a rare four-base error against Angels right fielder Jo Adell after a fly ball from Solak popped out of the rookie’s glove and over the fence in a 7-3 Texas win Sunday.
The official scorer originally ruled it a home run, but changed it after consulting with the Elias Sports Bureau. Elias said it was unaware of any previous four-base error on a ball that went over the fence.
UP NEXT
Seattle RHP Taijuan Walker (1-2, 5.79 ERA) is scheduled to face RHP Jordan Lyles (1-1, 5.56) in the finale of a three-game series. It’s the last of 20 straight games without a day off to start the season for the Mariners.
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