Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Seattle 8, Texas 6
When: 8:05 PM ET, Saturday, September 15, 2012
Where: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Temperature: 72°
Umpires: Home - Paul Schrieber, 1B - Mike Everitt, 2B - Lazaro Diaz, 3B - Tim Welke
Attendance: 47267

Mariners 8, Rangers 6: Justin Smoak snapped a tie with a leadoff home run in the eighth inning as visiting Seattle squandered a six-run lead before recording just its third win in eight games.

Michael Saunders singled, tripled and drove in three runs while Dustin Ackley also went deep for the Mariners, who scored more than three runs for only the third time in 14 contests.

Mike Napoli launched a three-run homer in his return from the disabled list and Nelson Cruz went 3-for-3 with two RBIs for the Rangers, whose lead over Oakland in the American League West dropped to two games. The Athletics posted a 5-2 triumph over Baltimore on Saturday.

After Texas battled back from a 6-0 deficit, Smoak rudely greeted Tanner Scheppers (1-1) by depositing the rookie reliever's 1-0 pitch onto the grassy knoll beyond the wall in center field for his first homer since Aug. 18 against Minnesota. Smoak, who also singled in a run in the third, added insurance in the ninth with another RBI base hit.

Lucas Luetge (2-1) notched the win and Tom Wilhelmsen recorded the final four outs, striking out pinch hitter Mitch Moreland with the tying run on base for his 27th save in 30 opportunities.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Seattle OF Casper Wells was a late scratch from the starting lineup after injuring his neck while doing pregame work. Eric Thames replaced Wells in right field and went 1-for-5 with an RBI. ... Rangers LHP Robbie Ross was activated from the DL along with Napoli but did not appear in the game. ... Texas' Adrian Beltre returned to third base after serving as the team's designated hitter for the previous two contests due to inflammation in his left shoulder.


Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Seattle   Texas
Jason Vargas Player Scott Feldman
No Decision W/L No Decision
5.2 IP 2.2
4 Strikeouts 2
6 Hits 7
6.35 ERA 20.25
Hitting
Seattle   Texas
Justin Smoak Player Nelson Cruz
3 Hits 3
3 RBI 2
1 HR 0
6 TB 4
.750 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Seattle 11 2 19 .289 13 11 8 5 1 1
Texas 10 1 16 .270 23 6 6 6 0 0