ARLINGTON, Texas (Interstat) — Kyle Higashioka’s two-run homer in the fifth inning erased a Seattle lead and Nathan Eovaldi notched his 1,500th career strikeout in a milestone start as the Texas Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Tuesday night at Globe Life Park.

The victory improved the Rangers to 6-5, while the Mariners fell to 4-8, continuing a sluggish start to their season.

Eovaldi (1-2), making his 300th career start, delivered a crucial performance after two rough outings to begin the year. The 36-year-old right-hander allowed two runs on six hits over six innings, walking one and striking out seven. The most significant punchout was his last of the first inning, fanning Josh Naylor to reach the 1,500-strikeout plateau. He then stranded potential rallies in the fifth and sixth to preserve a one-run lead.

Seattle’s George Kirby (1-2), who had dominated Texas throughout his career with an 8-0 record in 10 prior starts, was nearly as sharp but was undone by one swing. Kirby worked eight complete innings, yielding three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

The Mariners struck immediately. On Eovaldi’s first pitch of the game, Brendan Donovan launched a solo home run to right field, staking Seattle to a 1-0 lead. Kirby made that stand up through four innings, navigating around a pair of Texas singles in the third and a Wyatt Langford single in the fourth, with his defense turning two double plays behind him.

Seattle added to its lead in the top of the fifth. After two quick outs, Cole Young singled and Brendan Donovan walked. Cal Raleigh followed with an RBI single to center, scoring Young to make it 2-0.

The Rangers’ response in the bottom half was swift and decisive, constituting the game’s pivotal sequence. Joc Pederson led off with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error by Donovan. Evan Carter then singled to right, driving in Pederson to cut the deficit to 2-1. On the very next pitch, Higashioka connected on a Kirby fastball, lining it just over the wall in left-center field for a two-run homer that suddenly put Texas ahead 3-2.

From there, the Rangers’ bullpen sealed the deal. Jacob Latz provided two perfect innings of relief, striking out two. Closer Jakob Junis worked around two ninth-inning singles by Luke Raley and J.P. Crawford. After a flyout, Junis got Cole Young to fly out to deep center and, following an umpire review, induced a soft groundout from Donovan to end the game, earning his second save.

The Mariners finished with eight hits but went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Texas managed just six hits but capitalized on its lone major opportunity. The game time was 2:12 before an announced crowd of 22,411.

The result defied several pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a 4-3 Texas win, while its ELO system gave Seattle a 51.9 percent probability of victory. The Mariners had also been installed as a -1.5 run favorite. The combined five total runs went well under the over/under line of 8.

The series continues Wednesday as the Rangers look for a sweep of the brief two-game set. Seattle will then return home for a four-game series against Houston, while Texas embarks on a West Coast road trip starting Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.