Cabrera, Minor lead Rangers past Mariners
Asdrubal Cabrera smacked two solo homers and left-hander Mike Minor struck out 11 in six innings as the Texas Rangers recorded a 10-9 victory over the visiting Seattle Mariners on Monday.
Rougned Odor contributed a three-run homer, Hunter Pence added a two-run blast and Joey Gallo also went deep to help Texas win for the fifth time in its past six games. The Rangers matched a season best with the five homers and 10 of their 15 hits went for extra bases.
Tim Beckham Jr. went 3-for-4 with a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs for the Mariners. Seattle has dropped 16 of its last 21 contests.
Minor (5-3) allowed two runs and six hits and walked just one. It is the second time this season that he has fanned 10 or more, the other coming when he struck out a career-best 13 versus the Mariners on April 27.
Seattle right-hander Mike Leake was pounded from the outset and served up three of the homers as well as three doubles.
Leake (3-5) allowed seven runs and a season-worst 11 hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked one while losing for the fifth time in six decisions.
The Mariners made things interesting in the ninth off right-hander Chris Martin as Edwin Encarnacion added a run-scoring double and Daniel Vogelbach lined a two-run homer to right to make it a one-run game. But Martin recovered to get Beckman to bounce out to third to end it.
The Rangers jumped all over Leake for five first-inning runs.
Danny Santana drove in the first run with a single and Texas had two on with two out when Odor stepped up and blasted the first pitch well over the wall and just inside the right field foul pole to make it 4-0.
Cabrera followed by slugging an 0-2 pitch over the fence in right center to cap the five-run uprising.
Cabrera again homered to right center in the fourth inning to make it 6-0. Shin Soo-Choo added an RBI double later in the frame.
The Mariners got on the board in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Ryon Healy and a bouncer through the left side by Beckham.
Texas added on in the seventh as Pence hit a 449-foot, two-run shot to left center off right-hander Ryan Garton. Gallo came up next against right-hander Parker Markel and homered to center to make it 10-2.
Seattle loaded the bases on a walk and two singles with one out in the eighth against right-hander Shelby Miller. Beckham then unloaded on a first-pitch fastball and sent it over the fence in left to cut the Rangers' eight-run lead in half.
--Field Level Media
