Lynn goes 7 strong, 4 Rangers homer in rout of Mariners
SEATTLE (AP) — A day after they scored 15 runs, the Rangers kept on bashing the ball all over Safeco Field.
Elvis Andrus, Hunter Pence, Logan Forsythe and Shin-Soo Choo homered, Lance Lynn allowed one run over seven innings and Texas routed the Seattle Mariners again, 14-1.
"We just kept coming," manager Chris Woodward said. "It's a testament to our ballclub and what we prioritize offensively. We are going to keep coming at you."
Coming off a 15-1 win in which they had their most hits (20) and runs of the season, the Rangers had 17 hits Sunday to earn a split of the four-game series with AL West-leading Seattle. Pence was 3-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored, and Choo and Danny Santana also had three hits apiece.
"We seemed to really take advantage of any mistakes that were made today," Pence said. "Just kept putting good swings on them and passing the baton, as they say."
Lynn (3-2) had his best start of the year, matching his season highs in innings pitched and strikeouts (nine) and equaling a season low in runs allowed.
"They gave me a big lead and I navigated my way through seven," Lynn said. "It was a good team win."
Entering the series with a thin bullpen, the Rangers were forced to use 10 relievers in the first two games against Seattle but got seven innings from Mike Minor on Saturday and Lynn on Sunday.
Lynn has put together quality starts in three of his last six outings and picked up his second win in as many career outings against the Mariners.
"It's amazing the competitiveness we get from every pitch," Woodward said. "He just never gives in."
Andrus and Pence each hit two-run homers off Eric Swanson (0-3) during a four-run third. Pence fell behind 0-2 before hitting his third home run of the year, extending the lead to 5-0.
Texas scored four more runs in the fifth to chase Swanson, thanks in part to errors by shortstop Tim Beckham and left fielder Domingo Santana. The Mariners committed four errors Sunday and lead the AL with 36 errors this season, including 11 by Beckham, who has the most in the majors. Seattle also committed three errors in Saturday's loss.
"There are plays — it's the big leagues — that need to be made," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "Our guys know that. It isn't for lack of work and trying to get through it. We've had stretches where we play very poor defense and stretches where we play six-seven games and we're making all the plays and we roll."
Seattle's third error, a botched ground ball by second baseman Dee Gordon with two outs in the eighth, enabled Forsythe's three-run homer off Anthony Swarzak, extending Texas' lead to 13-1.
"Last night we got behind the eight-ball, and again today," Servais said. "And (we didn't) make the plays defensively that we need to. Last couple days we've been on the bad side of it. You have to make plays. You have to catch the ball in this league."
Choo homered in the ninth, his third of the season.
Swanson, still in search of his first major league victory, allowed nine runs, six earned, on 11 hits in four innings.
Ryon Healy drove in Seattle's only run with a groundout in the fourth. Daniel Vogelbach went 2-for-3 with a double for the Mariners, who are 5-11 in their last 16 games.
MOVING UP
Andrus' home run in the third was his 1,596th hit as a Ranger, moving him past Juan González for fourth in club history.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rangers: 2B Asdrubal Cabrera was out of the lineup for the third straight game with a sore calf. Cabrera was injured in the second inning of Seattle's 14-2 win on Thursday.
Seattle: CF Mitch Haniger was out of the lineup with a sore shoulder after landing awkwardly trying to make a catch in the eighth inning Saturday night. Haniger will be further evaluated after Monday's day off, Servais said.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Adrian Sampson (0-1, 4.50 ERA) starts Tuesday night in the opener of a two-game home series against the Pirates.
Mariners: RHP Felix Hernandez (1-2, 3.91) takes the mound as the Mariners kick off a two-game series against the Cubs. Hernandez took a tough loss in his last start, allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight.
