ARLINGTON, Texas (Interstat) — MacKenzie Gore delivered a dominant five-inning start, allowing just one hit while striking out nine, and the Texas Rangers broke through with a three-run fifth inning to complete a series sweep of the Seattle Mariners with a 3-0 victory Wednesday at Globe Life Park.

The afternoon contest, played in 2 hours and 14 minutes before an announced crowd of 20,997, saw the Rangers improve to 7-5. The Mariners, held to two hits total, lost their fourth straight game and fell to 4-9.

Gore (2-0) was the story from the outset, overpowering a struggling Seattle lineup. He walked two of the first three batters he faced in the first inning but quickly found his command, retiring 10 of the next 11. He finished his outing having thrown 57 pitches, fanning nine and walking two. The Mariners managed only a Mitch Garver line-drive single in the fifth inning against him.

Seattle starter Bryan Woo (0-1) matched zeroes through four, scattering three hits. The game turned decisively in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Danny Jansen and Josh Smith hit back-to-back singles. Ezequiel Duran followed with another single to load the bases.

Brandon Nimmo then hit a ground ball to first baseman Connor Joe, who attempted to start a home-to-first double play. Joe’s throw to the plate sailed wide of catcher Mitch Garver, allowing two runs to score and leaving runners on second and third. After a walk to Wyatt Langford reloaded the bases, Corey Seager drove in the final run with a sacrifice fly to center field.

The three-run inning, fueled by the critical error, was all the support the Texas bullpen required. Luis Curvelo worked two perfect innings with two strikeouts. Chris Martin pitched a scoreless eighth, and Cole Winn secured his first save of the season in the ninth, working around a two-out single by Cole Young.

Texas batters collected six hits, with Nimmo and Smith each recording two. The Rangers grounded into two double plays, which helped Seattle pitchers limit the damage outside of the fifth. Mariners pitchers combined for 14 strikes, 43 balls and 14 balls in play, while Rangers pitchers logged 19 strikes, 38 balls and 19 balls in play.

The most important sequence of the game was the two-out, bases-loaded fielding error by Joe in the fifth inning. With the game scoreless and the Mariners’ offense dormant, a routine play would have ended the threat. Instead, the errant throw allowed two runs to cross and extended the inning, leading to the third run and providing an insurmountable cushion against a Seattle team that has scored only three total runs in its last four games.

The victory gave Texas a three-game sweep after winning the first two games of the series by scores of 2-1 and 3-2. Seattle has now been shut out three times in its last five games.

The Mariners open a four-game series at home against the Houston Astros on Friday. The Rangers begin a four-game road trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers that same day. The two teams are scheduled to meet again for a three-game series in Seattle beginning April 17.

Pregame projections from Interstat had forecast a 4-2 Texas victory and gave Seattle a 51.3% probability to win. The Mariners had been installed as a 1.5-run favorite, and the total score of three runs went well under the over/under line of 8.