RANGERS 5, MARINERS 1
SEATTLE -- The line drive off the bat of Seattle's Jean Segura was estimated at 101 mph. As much as Texas starter Bartolo Colon tried to get his glove up and shift his body, there was no way he could avoid being struck.
After Colon picked up the loose ball and threw Segura out at first base, he laughed as the Rangers staff rushed to check on him.
"The important thing is we won the game and I was able to get the out," Colon said through an interpreter. "He got me on the side. It was not in the middle. And I have a big belly so I can (handle) it."
All kidding aside, Colon put together arguably his best performance of the season on Wednesday, allowing 4 hits in 7 2/3 shutout innings and giving the Rangers a 5-1 victory over the Mariners. On the cusp of his 45th birthday, Colon (2-1) was excellent spotting his fastball and using his breaking pitches to keep Seattle off balance, a night after the Mariners scored nine runs.
"Everything was working. My curve, my fastball, my slider -- everything was working," Colon said.
It was the second time this season he pitched into the eighth, the previous against Houston when he was perfect through seven innings. Colon struck out two and threw 71 of 96 pitches for strikes.
Offense was scarce for both teams. The Rangers took advantage of two key mistakes by Seattle in the ninth inning to earn a split of the brief series.
Delino DeShields gave Texas the lead with a two-out RBI double in the eighth inning that scored Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The Rangers added four more in the ninth, all after Ryon Healy's two-out error and two runs scoring on a wacky strikeout.
Ronald Guzman struck out swinging with the bases loaded and two outs, but catcher David Freitas couldn't handle the pitch from Marc Rzepczynski. Jurickson Profar scored from third on the passed ball and Kiner-Falefa from second after Freitas made an unnecessary throw trying to get Guzman at first base.
The Rangers added two more runs -- one due to the hustle of Shin-Soo Choo reaching on an infield hit -- to cap the sloppy inning by Seattle.
Seager's home run in the ninth was the extent of Seattle's offense. The Mariners threatened in the eighth after Colon was lifted, but Jose Leclerc got Segura to pop out on the first pitch with runners on second and third.
Seattle starter Christian Bergman didn't allow a hit until Kiner-Falefa reached on an infielder grounder in the fifth inning. Bergman allowed two hits in seven shutout innings making a spot start after being recalled from Class AAA. He was lifted to start the eighth inning after striking out five and throwing 90 pitches.
INDIANS 6, TIGERS 0 Trevor Bauer struck out 10 in eight sparkling innings, and Cleveland beat host Detroit, avoiding a three-game sweep.
RAYS 5, ROYALS 3 C.J. Cron homered and scored three runs, and visiting Tampa Bay beat Kansas City to complete a three-game sweep.
RED SOX 6, ATHLETICS 4 Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run home run, J.D. Martinez added a two-run shot and host Boston got a victory over Oakland.
ASTROS 2, ANGELS 0 Justin Verlander pitched a five-hitter for his first shutout in three years and Evan Gattis hit a two-run home run as visiting Houston beat Los Angeles.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BREWERS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Travis Shaw, Domingo Santana, Christian Yelich and Tyler Saladino homered in the first four innings off Matt Koch, and Milwaukee routed host Arizona to take two of three.
REDS 6, GIANTS 3 Scooter Gennett homered a half-inning after the second baseman saved two runs with a diving catch on a difficult popup, helping visiting Cincinnati avoid a sweep by San Francisco.
MARLINS 6, DODGERS 5 Los Angeles erased a four-run deficit and still lost its sixth game in a row when J.T. Realmuto’s tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning helped host Miami win.
BRAVES 4, CUBS 1 Ronald Acuna Jr. drove in Ozzie Albies with the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning to send Atlanta past visiting Chicago.
INTERLEAGUE
PIRATES 3, WHITE SOX 2 Pinch-hitter Josh Bell singled to break a seventh-inning tie, and streaking host Pittsburgh beat skidding Chicago.
PHILLIES 4, ORIOLES 1 Nick Pivetta tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts, Cesar Hernandez homered and visiting Philadelphia beat Baltimore in a wet interleague matchup.
CARDINALS 7, TWINS 5 Dexter Fowler reached base four times and drove in two runs in his return to the lineup and St. Louis beat former starter Lance Lynn and host Minnesota.
BLUE JAYS 12, METS 1 J.A. Happ reached three times and allowed only two baserunners over seven innings, and Toronto got their first road victory against host New York on a rainy day in Queens.
Sports on 05/17/2018