SEATTLE -- Logan Gilbert had never worn the Mariners¡¯ City Connect uniforms when on the mound, as they¡¯ve almost exclusively been reserved for Friday home games, and for whatever reason, the rotation never lined up on his start day. As such, it was an unexpected surprise when Gilbert was approached about wearing them on Saturday to keep the Mariners¡¯ mojo alive when donning the uniforms themed on ¡°past presents future.¡±

And sure enough, the Mariners recaptured magic in a 5-4 walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth over the Rangers at T-Moblie Park after Gilbert departed, advancing to 14-1 when wearing their City Connects.

Randy Arozarena ripped a bases-loaded, one-out single that carried off shortstop Josh Smith's glove and into left field while Texas was playing with the infield in, scoring Victor Robles standing, sending Seattle to its 10th walk-off.

And yes, the Mariners will be wearing the City Connects again in the four-game series finale. They will pivot from their typical Sunday cream jerseys in hopes of channeling superstition into a lengthy winning streak to keep their postseason hopes alive.

¡°I mean, we kind of have to, don¡¯t we?¡± Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

Robles sparked the ninth-inning rally when yanking a one-out double into the left-field corner then stealing third base, his second of the night and 11th of the season going for third. Overall, Seattle¡¯s spark plug has yet to be cut down since joining the Mariners in mid-June, now 25-for-25 on steal attempts.

¡°It¡¯s definitely an advantage because it sets up the hitter to potentially get a mistake pitch,¡± Robles said through an interpreter. ¡°Then it puts us in a better position.¡±

With red-hot Julio Rodr¨ªguez -- who blasted a 446-foot second-deck special in the third -- at the plate Robles took off on the second pitch to add even more pressure on closer Jos¨¦ Leclerc, at which point Texas opted to intentionally walk Rodr¨ªguez in a 1-1 count. Leclerc then walked Cal Raleigh on four pitches to set up Arozarena, who fell behind 0-2 in the count before connecting on the third straight fastball he saw.

¡°On the first two pitches, I was really just trying to hit a home run and I took a big swing,¡± Arozarena said through an interpreter. ¡°After that, I really shortened up and focused on making contact.¡±

The Mariners (76-73) remained 4 1/2 games back in the American League West after the Astros won in Anaheim, but they pulled to 2 1/2 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot, after the Twins lost by 10 runs to the Reds. Seattle has 14 games to play, including a likely season-defining series in Houston during the final week.

Arozarena¡¯s heroics were set up by a pair of massive homers earlier, a solo shot from Rodr¨ªguez -- marking his second straight game of reaching the second deck -- and a two-run blast from Luke Raley, whose 436-foot shot to straightaway center came off Jack Leiter in the fifth. The latter tied the game after Gilbert surrendered a pair of two-run homers.

Finally, with more than marginal run support, Seattle snapped a five-game skid with Gilbert on the mound, as the Mariners had also lost nine of the past 10 behind the first-time All-Star. Seattle also advanced to 51-4 this year when scoring at least five runs, compared to 25-69 when scoring four or fewer.

Gilbert entered Friday with the lowest run support average (2.86) of any qualified starter, no outing more agonizing than his last time out in St. Louis when the Mariners were blanked while he threw an eight-inning game.

¡°I always want to grow every year and feel like I've gotten better every year,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°And that's the way I view it so far. I don't know what it looks like on the outside, but I feel like all my stuff is the best it's been.¡±

Gilbert is now at 191 1/3 innings, passing his career high from last year (190 1/3) and putting him in line to eclipse 200 this season, which was his only individual goal in Spring Training.

And if he has to pitch in the City Connect uniform to get there, that¡¯s OK -- because it¡¯ll mean that the Mariners are still riding a winning streak.