Rangers 11, Mariners 5
Yu Darvish struggled in his major-league debut but still got the win as Texas slugged its way to a home win over Seattle.
Nelson Cruz drove in four runs, helping the Rangers storm back from an early 4-0 deficit. Cruz's three-run bomb off Hector Noesi (0-1) tied the game at 5-5 in the third, and then Mitch Moreland put Texas ahead for good with a two-run shot in the fourth. Josh Hamilton added a solo homer later in the inning.
Ian Kinsler sealed the Mariners’ fate with a three-run blast in the eighth off George Sherrill that made it 11-5.
Darvish (1-0), a highly touted prospect from Japan, put himself in an early hole by surrendering four first-inning runs, the last coming on a bases-loaded walk to Munenori Kawasaki. Seattle extended its lead to 5-2 in the second on an RBI double by Kyle Seager.
Noesi took it on the chin in his first start since being acquired from the New York Yankees in the offseason, giving up seven runs on six hits and three walks in three innings. Darvish wasn’t much better, walking four and allowing eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He threw 110 pitches and finished with five strikeouts.
Michael Young and Cruz got Texas on the board in the first with back-to-back RBI singles.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Texas has now won six in a row against the Mariners and owns a 16-4 head-to-head record dating back to the start of the 2011 season ... Seattle right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, another former Japanese star, went 3-for-4 against Darvish, chasing him from the game with a sixth-inning single ... Neither Cruz nor Moreland had driven in a run this season prior to Monday.