SEATTLE (AP) — Elvis Andrus had a homer and three doubles, Jonathan Lucroy hit a two-run homer and the Texas Rangers held off the slumping Seattle Mariners 10-7 on Tuesday night.
Texas, which leads the AL West by 8 ½ games, had a season-high seven doubles among its 15 hits and won for the eighth time in 10 games.
Martin Perez (10-10) allowed four runs — two earned — and seven hits in six innings to win for the third time in his last 13 starts. Sam Dyson pitched the ninth for his 32nd save.
James Paxton (4-6) allowed six runs — four earned — and nine hits, throwing 103 pitches in 4 1/3 innings.
The Rangers snapped a 4-4 tie with three runs in the fifth. Lucroy chased Paxton with his ninth homer since joining the Rangers — he had 13 with Milwaukee prior to the Aug. 1 trade. Drew Storen relieved and gave up doubles to Andrus and pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland.
Andrus opened the seventh with his fifth home run off Arquimedes Caminero to make it 8-4. Seattle cut it to 8-6 in the bottom on a bases-loaded walk to Kyle Seager and Leonys Martin’s sacrifice fly.
Andrus added an RBI double in the eighth. Seth Smith answered with a pinch-hit homer in the bottom half, his 12th, to make it 9-7. Lucroy drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth for the final run.
Seattle, which was 10 games above .500 on Aug. 22, fell to 70-68 and 12 ½ games behind the Rangers. The Mariners have lost 10 of 13.
Seager pulled the Mariners even in the third with a two-run homer, his 26th, matching his career high set last season.
Paxton struck out four in the first inning, with one of them costing him a run. Ian Desmond struck out, but reached on a wild pitch. Carlos Beltran singled him to third and Adrian Beltre punched an opposite-field dribbler into right for an RBI single.
TRAINING ROOM:
Rangers: RHP Tanner Scheppers was activated from the 60-day DL (left knee surgery). He allowed one run in eight innings in eight rehab outings with Triple A-Round Rock and Double-A Frisco. Scheppers was 4-1 with 5.63 ERA last season in 42 relief appearances with Texas.
Mariners: RHP Tom Wilhelmsen, eligible to come off the 15-day DL (low back spasms), is on track to throw a simulated game on Thursday after an incident-free bullpen on Tuesday.
RANGERS ROSTER MOVES
Along with Scheppers, the Rangers recalled INF Joey Gallo and OF Jared Hoying from Triple-A Round Rock. Gallo and Hoying each were previously called up by Texas twice this season. Gallo hit .240 with 25 homers and 66 RBIs at Round Rock, while Hoying batted .269 with 16 homers, 66 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
MARINERS ROSTER MOVES
Veteran OF Norichika Aoki was recalled Tuesday after a short stint at Triple-A Tacoma. The left-handed hitting Aoki, batting .265 in 98 games with Seattle, was sent down because the Mariners were set to face several left-handers and Aoki would have received little playing time during that stretch. Aoki hit .226 (7 for 31) in his most recent eight games at Tacoma.
UP NEXT:
Rangers: RHP A.J. Griffin (7-3, 4.41 ERA) has allowed three runs or fewer in six of his last eight starts. Griffin has won his last two starts, beginning with six scoreless innings in a victory over Cleveland.
Mariners: LHP Ariel Miranda (2-1, 5.76 ERA) makes his sixth start since being acquired from Baltimore on July 31 in the trade for Wade Miley. Miranda was tagged for four runs in the first in his last start against the Angels, but followed with five scoreless innings for the victory when the Mariners rallied.