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Texas Rangers pitcher MacKenzie Gore (1) delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field, Friday, July 24, 2026, in Arlington.<\/p>\n
Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014\u00a0MacKenzie Gore nearly let the second inning spiral away from him.<\/p>\n
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The left-handed pitcher found himself in a jam Friday. Seattle had the bases loaded with two outs after Weston Wilson\u2019s RBI single to right field scored Josh Naylor. Three-time All-Star Randy Arozarena was positioned to give the Mariners an early lead.<\/p>\n
Gore had faced Arozarena nine times earlier this season, giving him experience to draw from in the situation.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve gotten him out before, and I understand how I did it,\u201d Gore said after the game. \u201cWe kind of kept him on the heater, then we threw an aggressive curveball, and he didn\u2019t hit it very hard in that inning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gore threw an 83 mph curveball toward the bottom of the zone, inducing a groundout that kept the score tied.<\/p>\n
Although Gore escaped the second inning having allowed only one run, Seattle threatened again in the fifth. He gave up hits to three of the first four batters that inning.\u00a0Dominic Canzone hit a two-run double into left-center field, scoring Arozarena and Colt Emerson.With the game tied 3-3, Gore once again found himself in a difficult situation.<\/p>\n
He escaped by recording consecutive outs on a pop fly and a\u00a0flyout.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did give up probably more than we would like to,\u201d Gore said. \u201cEspecially after scoring. It was a tough game. We competed every inning, and it was a huge win for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Left-handed batters have given Gore the most trouble lately. Canzone and Emerson found success against his breaking and off-speed pitches.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lefty thing has kind of been weird, but it\u2019s been real,\u201d Gore said. \u201cIt\u2019s frustrating, and I\u2019m going to continue to try to figure out how to make the adjustment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The night was a battle for Gore, who threw 96 pitches over five innings, including 31 in the second. He responded with strong third and fourth innings, closing the fourth with consecutive strikeouts.<\/p>\n
After an eventful five innings, Rangers<\/a> manager Skip Schumaker<\/a> knew Gore\u2019s night was over. He, too, was concerned about Gore\u2019s matchups with left-handed hitters.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a couple walks mixed in with the lefties and a couple hits that ended up costing some runs,\u201d Schumaker said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t find his changeup until probably the third or fourth inning. Then it became really effective.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI think the lefties probably ended his night. That ended up costing him an extra inning or two because everything else was really good.\u201d<\/p>\n July has not been smooth sailing for Gore<\/a>. Before Friday, his ERA for the month was 8.24, by far his worst of the season. Still, he struck out seven batters in three of his four previous July starts and added five strikeouts Friday.<\/p>\n The bullpen held strong after Gore\u2019s departure. Left-handed reliever Tyler Alexander pitched two-thirds of a scoreless eighth inning, helping preserve the Rangers\u2019 lead<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOn a day where he didn\u2019t probably have his best stuff, he still fought,\u201d Alexander said of Gore\u2019s performance. \u201cAnd he put us in a position where the bullpen can hold the game where it was.\u201d<\/p>\n