Mariners 10, Rangers 2
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Seattle Mariners hit three home runs in the eighth inning to blow past the Texas Rangers 10-2 and hand new manager Scott Servais his first career win.
Seattle led 4-2 before scoring six times in the eighth, with Robinson Cano, Seth Smith and Luis Sardinas each going deep.
After Smith's two-run homer off former Seattle reliever Tom Wilhelmsen put the Mariners up 8-2, Wilhelmsen hit Chris Iannetta with the next pitch and was ejected. That prompted an argument between Servais and Texas manager Jeff Banister.
Sardinas followed the dust-up with his first career homer, off Andrew Faulkner, to cap the scoring.
Seven of Seattle's 11 hits went for extra bases. Smith, Nori Aoki and Nelson Cruz each had two hits for Seattle.
An inning before the eighth-inning fireworks, the Mariners snapped a 2-2 tie with two runs off Texas reliever Tony Barnette (0-1), who was making his major league debut after pitching in Japan for six seasons.
Leonys Martin's double along with an error by Texas right fielder Shin-Soo Choo allowed Smith to score what turned out to be the game-winning run. Aoki knocked in Martin with a single.
The Mariners got runs off Texas starter Martin Perez in the second and fourth innings. Cruz made it 2-0 with a solo homer in the fourth into the Seattle bullpen.
The Rangers rallied to tie it in the bottom of the fourth on consecutive RBI singles from Elvis Andrus and Robinson Chirinos off Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma.
Perez pitched six innings, allowing two runs on two hits. Iwakuma allowed two runs on six hits in five innings.
Seattle right-hander Nick Vincent (1-0) pitched a perfect sixth inning to pick up his first win for the Mariners.
NOTES: LHP Martin Perez helped the Rangers make history. With Cole Hamels starting the season opener, it marked just the second time in club history the Rangers opened the season with two left-handed starters. The other time was 1993. ... DH Prince Fielder received his Players Choice Comeback Player of the Year award before the game. ... The pinch-hitting appearance by Seattle's Dae-Ho Lee on Monday made him the 20th South Korean-born player to reach the major leagues. Three of them have played for the Mariners, with Cha-Seung Baek with Seattle from 2004 to 2008 and current Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo from 2005 to 2006. ... Before Monday's 3-2 loss to Texas, Seattle had been 22-0 in games in which it allowed one hit or below. ... Seattle has three members of its coaching staff and four players who spent time with the Texas organization. Manager Scott Servais was the senior director of player development from 2006 to 2011.