Odor had a two-run shot for a 10-0 lead in the seventh and a three-run homer in the eighth, and leads the team with 27 home runs.
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Texas Rangers’ Carlos Gomez follows through for a grand slam swing off a pitch from Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, in Arlington, Texas.
Felix Hernandez takes the mound for Seattle opposite Rangers starter Martin Perez, who has struggled as of late. After a leadoff single and a stolen base, Iwakuma missed with a splitter low and inside to Nomar Mazara, who dropped the bat head and drilled a triple down the right-field line.
With the win, the Angels swept the three-game series, outscoring the Reds by a combined 16-4, while earning their fifth straight victory overall.
Rougned Odor quickly atoned for his baserunning blunders with a big blast for the Texas Rangers.
Rougned Odor hit a game-ending two-run home run and the AL-best Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 8-7 on Tuesday night.
“It’s hard to get six outs for a save”, Texas manager Jeff Banister said.
The Rangers got even at 6-6 in the seventh on RBI singles by Beltre and Jonathan Lucroy. Beltre’s home run, a two-run shot in the fifth, was No. 438 of his career to move him into a tie with Andre Dawson for 43rd on the all-time list.
While Odor recognized the deeper significance to the conversation: “AB talked to me and explained the situation and stuff like that”. I just want to say thank you to him because he’s a great teammate and he teaches me the little things. “I was just trying to help my team”.
Texas won its fourth straight and has a 10½-game lead in the AL West over third-place Seattle, which has lost four straight.
Asdrubal Cabrera extended his recent tear at the plate, hitting a two-run homer in his return to the lineup after missing one start due to a sore left knee.
The ball was right in front of Odor in the seventh when was easily thrown out by right fielder Shawn O’Malley when trying to stretch his hit into a double in the seventh.
The waning hope for salvaging a win to make the four-hour flight back to Seattle somewhat tolerable and an abysmal road trip seem a sliver less painful ended when Texas outfielder Carlos Gomez actually made solid contact with a baseball. “He’s aggressive, we know that, we love that about him”, Banister said.
“My fastball location was not consistent, but somehow I was able to hang in there and give us a chance to win”, Darvish said. It kind of went back and forth. The right-hander gave up six runs on four hits and three walks while striking out three. His ERA rose from 2.67 to 2.91.
Junichi Tazawa (3-2) wound up with the win and Craig Kimbrel pitched a ideal ninth for his 24th save. It was the club’s sixth win of the season when trailing after eight innings, most in the majors. The Rangers have a knack for winning these close games, improving to 30-8 in one-run games on the season and picking up their 39th come-from-behind win. X-rays and an MRI showed no structural damage. Cruz hurt his hand on a checked swing Sunday, and his taking medication to ease the inflammation.
Iwakuma threw 40 pitches in the inning.
Rangers: The scheduled rehab start for RHP Colby Lewis (right lat muscle strain) with Double-A Frisco at Midland was rained out. Perez started that one, allowing six runs for the second consecutive start, but on Wednesday he pitched out trouble in four of his innings and held the Mariners hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Looking for his first victory since August 11, Garza bounced back from a back-luck outing his last time out with his longest start of the season and held the Cardinals to use three hits with a pair of walks over seven innings of work.
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The Rangers are 6-1 on their 10-game homestand, with the only loss Friday against Cleveland.
