Mariners 11, Rangers 10
SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners started and finished strong at Safeco Field on Sunday afternoon. And they sure needed to, considering what happened in between.
Rightfielder Nelson Cruz's bases-loaded, walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning capped off a comeback from a five-run deficit as the Mariners beat Texas 11-10 on an afternoon of offensive fireworks from both teams.
Cruz also hit two home runs off Rangers' starter Ross Detwiler to push his Major League leading total to eight on the season.
Cruz delivered his third hit and fifth RBI of the game on a 2-2 pitch from Rangers closer Neftali Feliz, who threw 47 pitches over 1 2/3 innings for his first blown save of the season. His single to leftfield scored Seth Smith from third base for the game-winning run as the Mariners scored five runs over the final two innings to come back from deficits of 7-2 and 10-5.
Seattle (5-7) piled up a season-high 17 hits, with Cruz and second baseman Robinson Cano each collecting three. Centerfielder Austin Jackson opened the bottom of the first inning with his first home run of the season and added the tying RBI on a ninth-inning single.
Texas (5-8) piled up a season-high 13 hits, matched its best run total of the year and knocked Seattle starter James Paxton out of the game before the end of the third inning. The Rangers sent 11 batters to the plate in that inning, piling up seven hits in the process.
The Rangers ranked last in the American League in team batting average (.201) heading into Sunday and were coming off a game in which they had just two hits and 15 strikeouts.
Reliever Anthony Bass, who came on for Detwiler in the bottom of the third, kept the Rangers out in front until fellow relievers Tanner Scheppers and Keone Kela combined for four walks in the eighth inning to open the floodgates for a Seattle comeback. Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager delivered a two-out, two-run single on a 3-2 pitch from Feliz to pull the Mariners within 10-9 in the eighth.
Jackson brought home the tying run with a one-out single in the ninth before Cruz delivered the game-winner.
After notching his seventh home run of the season in the bottom of the first, Cruz added a three-run homer in the bottom of the third that pulled Seattle within 7-5. Cruz is now hitting .484 (16 of 33) with eight home runs and 14 RBIs over the past eight games.
Seattle's Paxton (0-2) gave up nine hits in 2 2/3 innings but was only charged with two earned runs, thanks to a third-inning error on shortstop Willie Bloomquist that opened the floodgates.
Texas leftfielder Jake Smolinski, who had just one hit in 17 at-bats entering the game, homered during the pivotal third inning, while leadoff hitter Leonys Martin collected a pair of hits in the frame. Martin went 3 for 6 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in the loss.
The Mariners' early lead held up until the top of the third, when Martin's leadoff single on a bunt that Paxton couldn't handle and an off-target throw from Bloomquist one batter later set the stage for an inning that would prove to be the Rangers' most productive of the season. Smolinski's two-run homer to left gave Texas a four-run lead, before Martin's second single of the inning drove in another run to increase it to 7-2.
Cruz's homer in the third pulled Seattle within 7-5, but Texas added three more runs off rookie reliever Tyler Olson in the sixth to open up a 10-5 advantage.
Seattle reliever Yoervis Medina (1-0) earned the win, while Feliz (0-1) suffered the loss on a day when he threw 47 pitches, the most he has ever thrown as a reliever.
Bass allowed four hits but no runs over 3 2/3 innings for the Rangers, while Detwiler was charged with five earned runs off seven hits in 2 1/3 innings.
The two teams combined to go through 11 pitchers in a game that took three hours and 45 minutes while including 30 total hits and 21 total runs.
Seattle established season highs for runs and hits (17) in the win.
NOTES: Texas 1B Mitch Moreland continues to be sidelined by a sore left elbow. He was not in the lineup Sunday, marking the third day in a row that Moreland has been sidelined. Rangers GM Jon Daniels said Friday night that Moreland might undergo a scope on the elbow if he's not back by Monday. ... With an off-day Monday, the Rangers are sticking with a four-man rotation. That means RHP Yovani Gallardo, Wednesday's scheduled starter, will stay on his typical four days of rest between starts. RHP Tanner Scheppers is working out of the bullpen but could be a candidate to join the rotation by the end of the week. Starters Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison and Derek Holland are all on the disabled list. ... The Mariners planned to give C Mike Zunino his first day off this season. C Jesus Sucre was in Sunday's lineup, marking his second start. The last time Sucre had started, Zunino ended up being a late-game replacement in an 11-inning win over the Oakland A's on April 11.