Rangers top M's to gain ground in wild-card race
The Sports Xchange
Sep 11, 2017
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nomar Mazara and Shin-Soo Choo each had two-run doubles for the Rangers in a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night as Texas snapped a two-game losing streak.
Delino DeShields, who was 2-for-4 with two runs, hit a solo home run in the fourth to help make a winner of Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels (10-3).
Texas (72-71) picked up a half-game in its pursuit of the American League's second wild-card spot. The Rangers trail Minnesota by two games.
Seattle (71-73) lost for the fifth time in seven games to fall 3 1/2 games behind the Twins.
Seattle's Mitch Haniger was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4. That included his 12th home run, a two-run shot that cut Texas' three-run lead to 4-3.
Haniger has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, including seven multi-hit games.
Kyler Seager belted his 23rd home run for the Mariners.
Mazara, who was the DH while trying to nurse a tight thigh muscle, also walked. He ended an 0-for-6 skid.
Hamels gave up three runs, six hits and one walk in six innings. He matched a season-high seven strikeouts. He entered 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA in his previous three starts yet improved to 7-0 with a 3.50 ERA at home.
Hamels scuffled in the first two innings, but after giving up Haniger's two-run homer in the third, he settled in.
Hamels retired 12 of the last 14 hitters he faced and stranded two baserunners in the fifth and sixth innings.
Right-hander Matt Bush and left-hander Jake Diekman each worked an inning of scoreless relief. Left-hander Alex Claudio picked up his eighth save with a perfect ninth, aided by a good defensive play by third basemen Will Middlebrooks, who dived to his left to rob Ben Gamel of a base hit with the tying run at the plate.
Seattle left-hander Ariel Miranda (8-7) didn't have it. The left-hander gave up four runs, six hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings.
The poor outing snapped Seattle's streak of seven consecutive quality starts, dating to Sept. 3. In the month, starters entered 4-0 with a 2.39 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 15 walks in nine starts.
The Rangers scored two runs in each of the first two innings after putting nine of their first 13 hitters on base.
Mazara's two-run double with one out in the first inning was followed by Choo's two-run double in the second.
With the Mariners trailing 4-1, Haniger's two-run homer closed the margin to one run in the third.
DeShields' home run in the fourth padded the Texas lead.
NOTES: Seattle OF Jarrod Dyson has elected to have surgery on a sports hernia-like injury and miss the rest of the season, manager Scott Servais said before the game. ... Seattle LHP James Paxton (pectoral muscle) and RHP Felix Hernandez (shoulder bursitis) threw bullpen sessions. ... Mariners RHP Ryan Weber was activated from the 60-day DL and outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma. ... Texas RHP Keone Kela (shoulder) also threw a bullpen session on Monday. ... Texas third base coach Tony Beasley was away from the team attending to a personal matter. Beasley missed almost all of last year dealing with rectal cancer, though this absence was not health-related, a Rangers official said. Jason Wood, manager of Texas' Triple-A affiliate at Round Rock, coached third.
Sep 11, 2017
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nomar Mazara and Shin-Soo Choo each had two-run doubles for the Rangers in a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night as Texas snapped a two-game losing streak.
Delino DeShields, who was 2-for-4 with two runs, hit a solo home run in the fourth to help make a winner of Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels (10-3).
Texas (72-71) picked up a half-game in its pursuit of the American League's second wild-card spot. The Rangers trail Minnesota by two games.
Seattle (71-73) lost for the fifth time in seven games to fall 3 1/2 games behind the Twins.
Seattle's Mitch Haniger was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4. That included his 12th home run, a two-run shot that cut Texas' three-run lead to 4-3.
Haniger has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, including seven multi-hit games.
Kyler Seager belted his 23rd home run for the Mariners.
Mazara, who was the DH while trying to nurse a tight thigh muscle, also walked. He ended an 0-for-6 skid.
Hamels gave up three runs, six hits and one walk in six innings. He matched a season-high seven strikeouts. He entered 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA in his previous three starts yet improved to 7-0 with a 3.50 ERA at home.
Hamels scuffled in the first two innings, but after giving up Haniger's two-run homer in the third, he settled in.
Hamels retired 12 of the last 14 hitters he faced and stranded two baserunners in the fifth and sixth innings.
Right-hander Matt Bush and left-hander Jake Diekman each worked an inning of scoreless relief. Left-hander Alex Claudio picked up his eighth save with a perfect ninth, aided by a good defensive play by third basemen Will Middlebrooks, who dived to his left to rob Ben Gamel of a base hit with the tying run at the plate.
Seattle left-hander Ariel Miranda (8-7) didn't have it. The left-hander gave up four runs, six hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings.
The poor outing snapped Seattle's streak of seven consecutive quality starts, dating to Sept. 3. In the month, starters entered 4-0 with a 2.39 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 15 walks in nine starts.
The Rangers scored two runs in each of the first two innings after putting nine of their first 13 hitters on base.
Mazara's two-run double with one out in the first inning was followed by Choo's two-run double in the second.
With the Mariners trailing 4-1, Haniger's two-run homer closed the margin to one run in the third.
DeShields' home run in the fourth padded the Texas lead.
NOTES: Seattle OF Jarrod Dyson has elected to have surgery on a sports hernia-like injury and miss the rest of the season, manager Scott Servais said before the game. ... Seattle LHP James Paxton (pectoral muscle) and RHP Felix Hernandez (shoulder bursitis) threw bullpen sessions. ... Mariners RHP Ryan Weber was activated from the 60-day DL and outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma. ... Texas RHP Keone Kela (shoulder) also threw a bullpen session on Monday. ... Texas third base coach Tony Beasley was away from the team attending to a personal matter. Beasley missed almost all of last year dealing with rectal cancer, though this absence was not health-related, a Rangers official said. Jason Wood, manager of Texas' Triple-A affiliate at Round Rock, coached third.
