So much for being a light-hitting team. The Seattle Mariners put up back-to-back eight run innings en route to scoring the second most runs in club history in their 21-8 win over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.
The damage started in the second inning when the Mariners sent 13 batters to the plate. Jesus Montero and Dustin Ackley both hit home runs in the inning. Texas starter Derek Holland didn't make it out of the second, pitching just 1 2/3 innings.
In an interesting bit of fate, it was Justin Smoak and Blake Beaven that helped the Mariners the most. Smoak, who was traded by the Rangers to Seattle in exchange for Cliff Lee, hit two three-run homers. Blake Beaven got the win for Mariners. Beaven is a former Rangers minor leaguer.
The win came after the Mariners beat Texas 10-3 the night before, breaking a five-game losing streak.
The Mariners put up the 21 runs, the most scored by any team this season, without the help of All-Star Ichiro Suzuki, the team's best hitter, who was given the night off. Without Suzuki, Seattle entered the game with just one player hitting above .250. Before Wednesday they were hitting .229 as a team, second worst in the American League.
One bright spot for the Rangers was Josh Hamilton, who had two doubles and one RBI, which increased his season total to 57, the best in baseball.
