 that put runners at second and third with Cano at the plate.David Phelps (1-1) struck out five in 1 2/3 innings before Edwin Diaz pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save in 24 chances.Rougned Odor and Carlos Gomez homered for the Rangers, who had five hits in the first two innings against Felix Hernandez and then one the rest of the game. They struck out 13 times against four pitchers.A day after becoming the first Dominican player and 31st overall in the majors with 3,000 hits, Adrian Beltre added to his total in the first with a solid single up the middle against Hernandez, his good friend.Odor had just hit his 23rd homer overall and 10th of July, a two-run homer measured at 437 feet, when Hernandez walked toward the plate for a brief word with his catcher.Hernandez then hugged Beltre before going back to the mound and giving up the hit. They were teammates during Beltre's five seasons in Seattle (2005-09) and are still close.Darvish was dealt to the Dodgers within minutes of the non-waiver trade deadline earlier Monday for three minor league players. Texas also traded reliever Jeremy Jeffress back to Milwaukee for a Double-A pitcher, and had sent catcher Johnathan Lucroy to Colorado after Sunday's game for a player to be named.After three trades the previous week, the Mariners made no additional deals before the deadline.Hamels struck out seven and walked one while going six innings. Hernandez was erratic despite five strikeouts, walking three and hitting two batters in his 5 13 innings.Seattle got even at 4 with an unearned run in the sixth. Guillermo Heredia reached on a two-out error by Beltre and scored on a triple by Leonys Martin.It was the third straight game that Beltre had a throwing error. He had gone 62 consecutive games without an error before that, a franchise record and career best for the five-time Gold Glove winner.TRAINER'S ROOMMariners: Martin, a .145 hitter, was recalled from Triple-A after RF Mitch Haniger got hit in the face by a fastball on Saturday. Haniger is expected to be out about two weeks.Rangers: RHP Tyson Ross made a rehab start for Double-A Frisco, a week after going on the 10-day Dl with a blister on his right index finger.UP NEXTMariners: RHP Erasmo Ramirez will start three days after being reacquired by the Mariners in a trade with Tampa Bay. Since his last start June 21, Ramirez has pitched only 10 innings in six relief appearances. Manager Scott Servais said he will be limited to 60-80 pitches and that a reliever will be ready to go.Rangers: RHP Nick Martinez is likely to start in what was Darvish's scheduled spot Tuesday. Martinez was recalled after being activated Monday from the disabled list (right forearm soreness) at Triple-A Round Rock.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Mariners begin pivotal road trip against Rangers 2h ago• 4 min read Now comes the hard part for the Seattle Mariners.After returning to the .500 mark with a 9-1 victory against the New York Mets on Sunday, the Mariners hit the road, beginning with a game Monday night in Texas. Seattle plays 21 of its next 28 games away from Safeco Field.After three games against the Rangers, Seattle heads to Kansas City for a four-game series with the Royals, the team the Mariners are chasing for the second American League wild-card position.Seattle finishes a nine-game trip with two in Oakland before its only August homestand, against the Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles.The Mariners (53-53) are 3 1/2 games behind Kansas City."We need to play at the top of our game and everybody has to be contributing up and down that lineup, the rotation, the bullpen," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "We know what's ahead of us. We will embrace what's ahead of us. We are not going to shy away from it."You looked at the schedule way back in January when I first got asked about it, well, it is what it is. We have an interesting August ahead of us. It will be very challenging. We'll find out a lot about our club. But we finished up on a high note at home." Despite playing 19 games at home in June and 17 more in July, the Mariners have only spent three days above .500 this season.They can take heart that they went 5-1 on their last trip, against the Chicago White Sox and AL West-leading Houston Astros, coming out of the All-Star break."We've played pretty good on the road," said Nelson Cruz, whose three-run homer in the first inning Sunday provided all the offense left-hander James Paxton needed. "Hopefully, we can keep doing what we are doing. We live on the road most of the time. It's nothing new. It's part of who we are as a team. We travel the most and have the farthest flights of anyone. It doesn't come easy, but we are used to it." The Mariners have won four of their five series since the break, taking two of three from the Boston Red Sox and Mets after opening their recent 10-game homestand by losing three of four to the New York Yankees."You were hoping to win all the series, but we stubbed our toe a bit against the Yankees," Servais said. "We've responded." The Rangers (50-54) are just two games behind the Mariners, but they have been shopping right-hander Yu Darvish as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches Monday.The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported the Rangers are "more sold than ever" that they will trade Darvish.The Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers have been linked to Darvish, while the Cleveland Indians reportedly also have strong interest.Darvish's batterymate exited Sunday night when the Rangers dealt catcher Jonathan Lucroy to the Colorado Rockies for a player to be named.The series opener at Globe Life Park on Monday will feature two veteran starters with multiple All-Star appearances.Right-hander Felix Hernandez (5-4, 4.08 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Mariners against Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels (5-1, 3.97).Hernandez is 3-2 with a 3.67 ERA since returning from the disabled list June 23 following nearly two months off because of inflammation in his right shoulder.In his last outing, Hernandez gave up four runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings against Boston, a game the Mariners won 6-5 in 13 innings. Hernandez allowed just one run on two hits through five innings before running into trouble.Hamels is 4-1 with a 4.78 ERA in six starts since his own stint on the DL caused by a right oblique strain. He is coming off a 10-4 victory against Miami on Tuesday, when he gave up four runs in six innings.Hernandez will be making his 52nd career start against Texas. He is 19-23 with a 3.89 ERA vs. the Rangers. In his only start against them this season, Hernandez gave up six hits and one run in 7 1/3 innings during a win on April 14.Hamels is 5-3 with a 5.12 ERA in 11 career starts against Seattle. He gave up six hits and four runs (three earned) over five innings in his only start against the Mariners this season, on April 16.The Rangers lost 10-6 Sunday to visiting Baltimore, but the highlight was a double by Adrian Beltre in the fourth inning off the Orioles' Wade Miley. It was Beltre's 3,000th career hit, making him the 31st player in major league history to reach the milestone and the first Dominican-born player to do so."When I got my second at-bat, I thought, 'This has to be it. I don't want to have the fans waiting, my family is waiting for it. I don't want to drag it one more day,'" Beltre said. "When I got the 3-0 (count), I was doubting myself. 'Should I swing, or should I just take?' The way Miley was pitching, I thought, 'This is going to be the best pitch he will throw me.' And I decided, if it's going to be on the plate, I'm going to swing. And I did."
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