ARLINGTON, Texas — With his right foot on the top step of the visitor’s dugout as he leaned on that bent knee, Scott Servais beamed as he watched his offense turn the top of the sixth inning of the Mariners’ 10-4 drubbing of the Rangers into an interminable grind.
His hitters had already rolled up five runs in the first five innings, but now they were turning the game into a 3½ hour rout with a parade of hitters content on working every count to either a walk or hard contact.
After 34 minutes and 50 pitches from three different relievers, the Mariners had 10 men come to the plate, notching four hits and drawing three walks and scoring three runs, turning a four-run lead into eight runs and making the outcome obvious.