Hamilton Drives In Winner As Rangers Rally Past M's
ARLINGTON (AP) – Josh Hamilton drove in the winning run with a single in the ninth inning and the AL West-leading Texas Rangers rallied from a three-run deficit for a 7-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.
Ian Kinsler and Endy Chavez homered for the Rangers, whose division lead over second-place Los Angeles remained at 1 1/2 games with the Angels beating the Yankees.
Jeff Gray (0-1) walked Kinsler leading off the ninth.
Aaron Laffey relieved and Chavez reached on a bunt single that sent Kinsler to second.
Hamilton followed with a single to left, and Kinsler scored easily from second ahead of a short throw from left fielder Trayvon Robinson before being mobbed by teammates who began running onto the field immediately after Hamilton made contact.
The Mariners took a 6-5 lead into the eighth, but Gray couldn't hold it.
Kinsler's two-run homer in the seventh off Josh Lueke had pulled Texas within 6-5, and Gray got himself in trouble when he walked Nelson Cruz with one out in the eighth.
Cruz stole second, and scored when Yorvit Torrealba doubled over the head of right fielder Ichiro Suzuki to tie it.
Neftali Feliz (2-3) pitched the ninth for the victory.
Mariners rookie starter Michael Pineda allowed three runs and five hits over six innings and seemed to be on track to win his 10th game before the Rangers rallied. Pineda struck out four and walked two.
Adam Kennedy drove in three runs for the Mariners, who started the night with a major league-worst team batting average of .228, having scored three runs or less in 18 of its previous 28 games.
But the Mariners broke out against Rangers starter Alexi Ogando for six runs and eight hits in 2 2-3 innings, his second shortest outing of the season behind 1 2-3 innings in a 12-4 road loss to the Yankees on June 14.
The Rangers reinstated the right-hander from the paternity leave list before the game and placed utility infielder Andres Blanco on the 15-day disabled list with lower back inflammation.
Ogando went on paternity leave on Saturday, going to the Dominican Republic following the birth of his child.
Seattle took a 2-0 lead in the first on Mike Carp's RBI groundout and Kennedy's run-scoring single.
In the bottom of the first, Chavez hit his fifth homer of the season with the bases empty, and Michael Young added an RBI double off the wall in center.
Seattle grabbed a 3-2 lead in the second when Miguel Olivo scored from third on Kyle Seager's double-play grounder, but Chavez's RBI single in the bottom of the second drew Texas even at 3.
The Mariners went back in front with a three-run third on Kennedy's two-run triple into the right field corner and Olivo's sacrifice fly.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
