51-50 - Rangers finally welcomed back to the Win Column with 7-2 victory over Mariners

I definitely expected it would be the four-headed monster of Brett Martin, Pedro Payano, Rafael Montero and Kyle Bird that would team up to pitch the Rangers out of the roughest stretch of the season and put a stop to the devastating eight game losing streak. Definitely.

All sarcasm aside, it finally wasn’t a terrible time watching baseball as Martin opened and allowed a run but then Payano came in as the primary pitcher and gave the Rangers five innings of one-run ball on three hits with seven strikeouts to just one walk allowed. For his efforts, Payano is now a big league winning pitcher.

Montero followed Payano and tossed two innings of impressive looking scoreless ball himself and contributed another couple of strikeouts to the cause while Bird closed out the win with an easy 1-2-3 ninth. In total, the ensemble produced 10 Ks to just one BB over the course of their Tuesday night group project victory as the Rangers have now won more games than they’ve lost again.

Player of the Game: Rougned Odor went into the All-Star break as perhaps the hottest hitter on the Rangers over the prior few weeks but once the team regrouped for the second half, Rougie’s bat went cold.

Tonight, Odor smacked the third and fourth home runs on the night for the Rangers and finished with a three-hit night and three runs scored. The tetrad of greenhorn hurlers were the headliners but the Rangers will win with most any pitching effort when they get this sort of production from Odor (and Nomar Mazara, who also homered tonight).

Up Next: The Rangers will close out this series against the Mariners on Wednesday afternoon with LHP Mike Minor potentially taking the mound for the final time for Texas against RHP Mike Leake potentially taking the mound for the final time for Seattle. First pitch from Safeco-Mobile Park Field is scheduled for 2:40 pm CT.