SEATTLE (AP) Rougned Odor broke a ninth-inning tie with a three-run double and the Texas Rangers beat Seattle 9-5 on Tuesday night, ending the Mariners’ four-game winning streak.
Ronald Guzman went 4 for 4 with three RBIs and Shin-Soo Choo homered for the Rangers, who tagged American League saves leader Edwin Diaz (0-2) in the ninth.
Odor rifled Diaz’s high slider the opposite way into the left-field corner to snap a 5-all tie, scoring Jurickson Profar, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Joey Gallo.
Diaz was pulled after getting just one out and was charged with four earned runs when Chasen Bradford allowed Guzman’s run-scoring single.
Texas reliever Chris Martin (1-1) got the win after giving up the tying run in the eighth on an RBI groundout by Jean Segura, who had three hits.
Nelson Cruz homered early for the Mariners, who remained a game behind first-place Houston in the AL West.
Texas took a 5-4 lead in the sixth with help from Seattle’s wild bullpen.
Staked to a 4-2 lead, Mariners starter Felix Hernandez was pulled after loading the bases with no outs. Left-hander James Pazos uncorked a wild pitch to Odor, scoring Nomar Mazara.
Odor swung through Pazos’ second pitch, which got away from catcher Mike Zunino for a passed ball. Kiner-Falefa scored to tie it at 4. Odor eventually struck out, but Guzman’s broken-bat RBI single off Pazos landed softly in center field, scoring Gallo and giving Texas a 5-4 advantage.
Cruz gave the Mariners a 4-2 edge with his solo home run off starter Austin Bibens-Dirkx in the third.
CHART CLIMBER
With his strikeout of Choo in the fifth, Hernandez moved past Dodgers great Sandy Koufax and tied Kevin Brown for 44th place in career strikeouts at 2,397.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The only big leaguers with hyphenated last names – the Rangers’ duo of Bibens-Dirkx and Kiner-Falefa, and former Mariners pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith – met outside the visitors’ clubhouse for a group photo before the game. Bibens-Dirkx and Rowland-Smith were teammates at Triple-A Buffalo in the Toronto organization in 2014.
CENTRAL CASTING
It was Mitch Haniger – and not Denard Span – who played center field for the Mariners with Guillermo Heredia getting a night off. Seattle manager Scott Servais said he changed his mind on that alignment after talking to the newly acquired Span about it Tuesday, leaving him put in left field. ”That is what he’s done in Tampa,” Servais said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: 3B Adrian Beltre (hamstring) is nearing a return to the team. For the first time since being placed on the 10-day disabled list May 15, Beltre ran the bases on a dirt infield before the game. He fielded grounders at third base and took batting practice. Rangers manager Jeff Banister wants to see his four-time All Star repeat the workload and come out of it feeling OK. ”The last hurdle is being able to repeat and recover,” Banister said. ”Obviously, it is a great sign to see him go through everything he did today.” … RHP Tim Lincecum (blisters), who starred in high school up the road from Safeco Field, is nearing the end of his 30-day minor league assignment. Banister said Lincecum has to show ”consistency . and put together some competitive innings” at Triple-A Round Rock before the team would consider bringing him up. Lincecum has a 7.45 ERA in eight appearances. . RHP Ricardo Rodriguez (arm) was activated from the 60-day DL and optioned to Round Rock.
Mariners: 2B-CF Dee Gordon (toe) is expected to activated from the DL when first eligible Thursday, Servais said. . RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (shoulder) had his live batting practice session delayed until Wednesday because of tightness in his neck.
UP NEXT
Rangers: After battling right knee soreness, left-hander Matt Moore (1-5, 7.99 ERA) will be activated from the 10-day DL to make his 10th start of the season Wednesday. He is tied for third in the league with 40 runs allowed. Moore has had a good career track record against the Mariners, going 1-1 with a 2.03 ERA in five starts.
Mariners: Left-hander James Paxton (4-1, 3.10) beat the Tigers 2-1 last Friday. He has logged six consecutive quality starts in May. Of all AL West opponents, Paxton has struggled most against Texas, going 2-4 with a 5.10 ERA in his career. He had a no-decision in April at Texas, allowing five earned runs in four innings.
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