Early on last season, this team was winning. It’s much more fun when they win.

A SUCCESSFUL ROAD TRIP.

Some things we haven’t seen the Rangers do in a while, we saw them do yesterday.

Win a series on the road.

Not have a losing road trip.

Have a comeback victory on the road.

Hit with runners in scoring position on the road.

It was one of the more fun games of the year, mainly because you had two teams with very little pitching. It was a war of attrition. And the Mariners just ran out of innings.

At one point in the game, the Rangers led by three. The Rangers led by two. The Mariners led by one. The Rangers led by one. The Mariners led by two. It was tied. The Rangers led by one.

Once the Rangers jumped off to a quick 3-0 lead in the first off the Mariners ineffective starter Wade LeBlanc, it was up to the Rangers equally ineffective starter Drew Smyly to hold them.

He did. For one inning. Then Drew Smyly does what Drew Smyly does, which is let in runs like he was letting kids into the public pool on a summer day. They came flooding in. Seven.

Luckily, the Rangers bats were able to come alive against a former Drew Smyly in Anthony Bass. After retiring the first two batters in the ninth, Bass allowed back to back doubles to give the Rangers the win.

The Rangers got contributions up and down the lineup, highlighted by a huge pinch-hit game tying double from Shin-Shoo Choo in the eighth.

You have to beat the teams you should beat. And the Mariners are one of those teams. So are the Rangers. But one team had to win.

But the Rangers are good-bad. The Mariners are bad-bad.

Good-bad puts you in the vicinity of .500. Bad-bad puts you in Seattle.