Trio of HRs back Cashner to beat Mariners

ARLINGTON -- Delino DeShields, Joey Gallo and Elvis Andrus all homered, and the Rangers snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday night with a 5-1 win over the Mariners at Globe Life Park.
Seattle saw its four-game win streak snapped and missed a chance to go three games over .500 for the first time this season. The Mariners remained 1 1/2 games out of the second American League Wild Card spot, while Texas climbed to within 4 1/2 games.
"It was huge. I think that as a team, we're not going to give up," Andrus said. "We're going to keep playing hard. We know we've still got plenty of games ahead of us."

Seattle struck first, taking a 1-0 lead three batters into the game on Robinson Canó's RBI single, but Rangers right-hander Andrew Cashner held the Mariners scoreless from that point on. He went six innings and gave up six hits with four strikeouts, posting his fifth straight quality start and registering his third straight win. The Mariners left nine runners on base, to the Rangers' three.
"It certainly wasn't the way we wanted to end the series," Seattle manager Scott Servais said. "We'd played really good the last couple nights, but home runs hurt us tonight, and we just couldn't get much going offensively. We had some guys on [base] early in the game but couldn't get the big hit to get a big inning going."

The game was interrupted by a 40-minute rain delay with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, after which Cashner and Mariners starter Aríel Miranda, who allowed all three Rangers home runs over 5 2/3 innings, exited the game. Matt Bush, Jason Grilli and José Leclerc worked scoreless innings to preserve the win for Texas.
DeShields' solo shot in the first tied the game, and Gallo hit his third homer in two nights to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead in the fifth. Andrus launched his 15th of the season -- the most by a Rangers shortstop since 2005 -- in the sixth to put the game out of reach and end the Rangers' nine-game homestand on a high note.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Escaping the jam: After the two teams traded runs in the first inning, Seattle seemed poised to grab the lead in the fourth. Danny Valencia singled to lead off the frame, and after a Leonys Martin flyout, Guillermo Heredia doubled past Gallo down the third-base line, giving the Mariners runners at second and third. But Cashner slammed the door. He got Mike Zunino to pop out and Jarrod Dyson to ground out, keeping the score knotted at 1.
"Very aggressive tonight with all of his pitches. Twelve three-pitch or [fewer] situations, and he was only behind in three counts," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "Outstanding night for Andrew." More >

Grilli slams the door: The Mariners looked like they had an opening, but just as soon as Grilli gave them a chance, he ensured nothing would happen. The veteran reliever walked consecutive batters to lead off the eighth, but he retired the next three: Kyle Seager flew out, and Valencia and Martin each struck out in Seattle's best chance to execute a comeback.
QUOTABLE
"I don't know. Like I told you many times this year, I'm just trying to put a good swing on it. I don't really think about homers. I just try to make hard contact. This year, I've been really lucky. The wind is going toward the bleachers every time I hit it. I'm just really happy to be able to help the team to win." -- Andrus, on his first season with double-digit home runs
"We're looking forward to it. That's our motto all month is 'Bring it on.' We're playing good ball. Not a good game tonight, but over the last week we've played very well and it should be a good series." -- Servais, on a road series against the Royals, who are 1 1/2 games ahead of Seattle in the Wild Card race
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Carlos Gómez stole two bases on Wednesday, swiping second and then third in the seventh to match his season high. He is one of just six active players with 11 or more seasons of 10-plus stolen bases, joining Ian Kinsler, Rajai Davis, Carlos Beltrán, José Reyes and Ichiro Suzuki.
MARINERS' ARMS ON DISPLAY
For the second night in a row, the Mariners outfield made baserunners pay for their aggressiveness. Dyson recorded his second outfield assist in two games, after he threw out Shin-Soo Choo trying to tag up from first on a fly ball in the first inning. Then Martin retired Andrus in the fourth when the Rangers' shortstop tried to tag up from second on an Adrián Beltré sacrifice fly in the fourth, erasing any baserunner the Rangers had and limiting Texas to one run that inning.
"The throw Leonys made was about as good as it gets," Servais said. "Obviously Andrus is a good baserunner, an aggressive one. But Leonys got behind the ball, and he's got a tremendous arm. That was a special play and a big play in the game to keep it right there."
• Martin, Gamel highlight impressive OF depth

WHAT'S NEXT
Mariners:Yovani Gallardo (5-7, 5.34 ERA) gets the start in Thursday's 5:15 p.m. PT opener of a four-game series at Kansas City. The 31-year-old right-hander is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two starts since returning to the rotation from a successful stint as a long reliever. The Royals, who are just ahead of Seattle in the American League Wild Card chase, will start newly acquired right-hander Trevor Cahill (4-3, 4.15 ERA).
Rangers: Righty A.J. Griffin (4-2, 5.77) makes his first start since May 26 due to a left intercostal strain, as the Rangers open up a six-game road trip in Minnesota at 7:10 p.m. CT. Griffin is 2-1 with a 5.00 ERA in three career starts against the Twins.
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