ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Delino DeShields homered after taking a speedier trip around the bases for an earlier run as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-3 on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series matching teams still hoping to get one of the AL’s two wild cards.
Cole Hamels (10-3) struck out seven in six innings to win for the first time in his last four starts.
DeShields reached on a one-out bunt single in the second, when he was initially called out before a replay challenge overturned the call. DeShields then raced home from first on Shin-Soo Choo’s two-run double that made it 4-1, running through a stop sign from fill-in third-base coach Jason Wood and scoring on a nifty headfirst slide.
Two innings later, DeShields hit his fifth homer.
Alex Claudio worked a perfect ninth to get his eighth save in 12 chances for the Rangers (72-71), who got within two games of idle Minnesota for the American League’s second wild-card spot. Seattle (71-73) is 3 1/2 games back.
Kyle Seager and Mitch Haniger homered for Seattle. Seager led off the second with his 23rd homer and Haniger, who had three hits and finished a triple shy of the cycle, had a two-run shot in the third.
Mariners starter Ariel Miranda (8-7) allowed gave up six hits and walked three in only 1 2-3 innings.
Texas led for good when Nomar Mazara hit a two-run double in the first — a ball that ricocheted off the upper half of the wall in right-center field.
COACHING THIRD
Wood, the Rangers’ Triple-A manager, coached third base with Tony Beasley out to deal with a personal matter. But the Rangers said it wasn’t a health issue for Beasley, who was limited last season while undergoing treatment for rectal cancer.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: OF Jarrod Dyson, whose 28 stolen bases were tied for third in the American League, is done for the season. He will have surgery to repair something similar to a groin injury. He hasn’t played since Sept. 2, only his second game back after missing the previous 12 days with a right groin strain.
Rangers: Keone Kela, out more than a month with right shoulder soreness, threw another bullpen session and will be re-evaluated Tuesday. … 2B Rougned Odor was back in the lineup a day after he twisted his left foot and ankle chasing a popup down the right-field line. Odor is the only Texas player to appear in all 143 games. He has started 141 of them.
UP NEXT
Mariners: Marco Gonzales (0-1, 6.20) will be the second consecutive Mariners lefty to start against Texas. His last game was in relief, throwing four scoreless against Oakland on Sept. 2.
Rangers: Right-hander Miguel Gonzalez makes his second start for the Rangers since they acquired him Aug. 31 in a trade from the Chicago White Sox. He allowed four runs over three innings in his first start last Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader at Atlanta.
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