Lowe plates winning run during 3-run 8th and Rangers rally to beat Mariners 5-4 in Rocker's debut

SEATTLE (AP) — Nathaniel Lowe drove in the go-ahead run for Texas with an infield single during a three-run eighth inning and hit a homer in the seventh, as the Rangers erased a three-run deficit for a 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night in top prospect Kumar Rocker’s major league debut.

After Lowe made it a 4-2 game with his seventh-inning homer, Marcus Semien brought Texas within one with a solo homer off Collin Snider (3-3) in the eighth.

Josh Smith reached on an error, Wyatt Langford doubled, and Adolis García drove in Smith on a groundout to shortstop to tie the game at 4-4.

Lowe then hit an infield single to second base to score Langford from third.

Rocker struck out seven while allowing one run on three hits over four innings in his first big league start. The only run he allowed came on a solo homer from Justin Turner in the fourth.

Rocker allowed back-to-back singles to lead off the first inning, but retired the next six batters. He walked two in the third, but kept Seattle off the board until Turner's shot.

“I feel like the whole game I was trying to find my rhythm, and that’s just, that’s part of the moment, that’s part of it being a new experience,” Rocker said. “And can’t really get frustrated from it, but learn from it."

Rocker threw 74 pitches and induced 17 swings and misses from Mariners hitters, thanks in part to his slider.

“Great job, great job,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “Poise, presence, he just looked good out there, didn’t he? I mean, first inning couldn’t have gotten off to a tougher start for him, but he kept his composure, he pitched out of a tough jam and just solid four innings there."

Josh Jung gave Texas the early lead with a solo homer in the second, but the Rangers couldn’t score again off Bryce Miller, who allowed one run on five hits over six innings, with seven strikeouts.

“We let Miller get into rhythm,” Lowe said. “Like any major league starter, you get in rhythm and you’re in control, it’s really tough to score. So I felt like we did a good job kind of slowing it down a little bit, getting some good pitches to hit, and then we touched the plate when we needed to.”

Randy Arozarena drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the fifth inning to give the Mariners a two-run lead. Cal Raleigh scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to make it 4-1.

Matt Festa (4-1) got the win with a scoreless seventh.

Kirby Yates pitched the ninth inning for his 30th save.

The loss drops the Mariners to 4 1/2 games behind Houston in the AL West standings, and 4 1/2 games back of Minnesota for the third AL wild card.

“Tough eighth inning,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “A couple of ground balls, just a well-placed chopper and a ball off the glove, and it's a tough way to take it."

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers SS Corey Seager will undergo season-ending sports hernia surgery, Rangers GM Chris Young announced on Thursday.

ROSTER MOVE

To make space for Rocker on the roster, RHP Chase Anderson was designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom will make his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2023 on Friday. The Mariners have not announced their starter.

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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker, center, greets his father and Tennessee Titans defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, left, and mother Lalitha Rocker, right, after his major league debut in a 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Tayler Saucedo reacts to giving the Texas Rangers the lead on an RBI single by Texas Rangers' Nathaniel Lowe during the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodríguez strikes out to end the game in a 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers in a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim, left, greets relief pitcher Kirby Yates, right, after Yates earned the save in a 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Kirby Yates throws against the Seattle Mariners during the ninth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien, left, celebrates a 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners with teammates, including Josh Smith, right, after a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez catches the double hit by Texas Rangers' Wyatt Langford after it bounces in front of him during the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Texas Rangers' Adolis García hits into a groundout to score Josh Smith against the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Texas Rangers' Nathaniel Lowe jogs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Texas Rangers' Nathaniel Lowe follows through on an RBI single to score Wyatt Langford as Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh looks on during the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilians began voting in the first round of local elections on Sunday for mayors, deputy mayors and councilors in the country’s 5,569 municipalities.

In Sao Paulo, three mayoral candidates are running neck-and-neck, including incumbent Ricardo Nunes, left-wing lawmaker Guilherme Boulos and self-help guru turned far-right politician Pablo Marçal. A runoff is scheduled for Oct. 27.

Much of the attention leading up to Sunday’s vote has been on Brazil ’s biggest city, where the race has been marred by episodes of violence involving Marçal.

Last month, José Luiz Datena, a former TV presenter turned candidate, slammed Marçal with a metal chair during a televised debate following references to allegations of sexual misconduct. In a later debate, an aide to Marçal thumped an adversary’s counterpart, resulting in a bloody face.

Marçal sparked more controversy on Friday, when he published on social media a falsified medical report indicating cocaine use by Boulos. The document was widely debunked by local media that pointed to inconsistencies including the fact that it was signed by a doctor who had passed away.

Boulos, a longtime campaigner for housing rights who is backed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, vehemently denied the veracity of the document. On Saturday, a judge sitting on Sao Paulo’s electoral court ordered the suspension of Marçal’s Instagram account for 48 hours and deemed that there are “indications of various offenses under the Electoral Code.”

Some of former President Jair Bolsonaro ’s political base has been drawn to Marçal, enthralled by his fiery rhetoric, although the far-right leader is supporting Nunes.

In Rio de Janeiro, incumbent Eduardo Paes is hoping to avoid a second-round runoff. Polls indicated until recently that was possible. But his principal challenger Alexandre Ramagem has steadily climbed in the polls in recent weeks, rendering the outcome of Sunday’s vote uncertain.

Ramagem, the former chief of Brazil’s intelligence agency under Bolsonaro, is being investigated as part of a wider probe into alleged spying on political opponents. He has denied the accusations.

Bolsonaro is backing Ramagem, and his ascent in the polls is widely attributed to the former president's campaigning on his behalf.

More than 155 million Brazilians are eligible to vote. Forty-three percent of the electorate is in the southeastern region, where Rio and Sao Paulo are located. Women make up around 52% of voters.

Nearly 1,000 transgender politicians are running Sunday in every one of Brazil’s 26 states, according to the nation’s electoral court, which is tracking them for the first time. The number of candidacies has tripled since the last local elections four years ago, when trans rights group Antra mapped them.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. Brasilia time and close at 5 p.m. (2000 GMT).

A second round will be held in municipalities with more than 200,000 registered voters, if none of the candidates for mayor obtain an absolute majority.

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, center, campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and his running mate Marta Suplicy, left, the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, center, campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and his running mate Marta Suplicy, left, the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, center, gestures to supporters as he campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and his running mate Marta Suplicy, left, the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party campaigns the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, campaigns with mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party campaigns the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, right, campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, campaigns with mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)