Things are going wrong for the Texas Rangers at the worst time.

The Rangers fell to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, 4-3, at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. With the loss, Texas dropped a series it needed to win. 

It was a game the Rangers should have had, but a late-game collapse squandered the opportunity.

Offense was not coming easily to either club, but Texas took the lead first and built on it.

In the top of the third inning, Joc Pederson capitalized on the opportunity of having a runner on by blasting a two-run home run to right-center field to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.

Then, in the top of the fifth, leadoff batter Evan Carter was hit by a pitch, which led to him stealing second base before advancing to third on a bad throw by Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.

Subsequently, Jake Burger drew a walk, and Nicky Lopez got Carter across home plate with a successful bunt. With a 3-0 lead, the Rangers were in the driver’s seat.

Then, it came crashing down. 

In the bottom of the seventh, reliever Jakob Junis replaced Jacob deGrom after the latter turned back the clock with a dominant outing by striking out 12 batters and allowing just one hit over six innings of work. But when Junis took the mound, deGrom’s great night ended in vain.

Junis opened the frame by hitting Randy Arozarena with a pitch, and a wild pitch advanced Arozarena to second base. The next hitter was Dominic Cazone, and he hit an RBI single that put Seattle on the board.

After that, Raleigh hit a single of his own, and Julio Rodriguez delivered a crushing blow in the form of a three-run home run to give the Mariners a 4-3 lead. Junis was replaced after that, but the damage was already done.

Texas could not muster any offense after the fact, and it was fortunate it generated any to begin with. The Rangers only logged four hits in 28 at-bats and struck out 13 times. 

Meanwhile, the Mariners struck out 16 times, most of which were because of deGrom leaving them flummoxed.

With the loss, the Rangers are now 72-75 and trail the Houston Astros by three games in the American League West Division.

Time is running out for Texas to turn things around, and right now, it looks like the organization will be sitting out October once again.