Hamels rebounds to help Rangers top Mariners

Nomar Mazara and Shin-Soo Choo each collected a two-run double Monday, and Cole Hamels allowed three runs in six innings as the Texas Rangers opened a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners with a 5-3 victory.

Delino DeShields hit a solo homer in the fourth inning, part of two-hit night, to back Hamels, who allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in his past three starts. He matched his season-high with seven strikeouts, done July 31 also against the Mariners.　

How Rangers pitchers fared: Cole Hamels had his finest start of the month, though he likely expects even better than just a quality start. ... Hamels allowed three runs in six innings to snap a two-start losing streak, and he struck out seven. ... His best inning was the fifth, a needed shutdown inning after the Rangers gave him a two-run cushion. ... He didn’t get the shutdown inning in the third, after being staked to a 4-1 lead. Mitch Haniger took him deep for a two-run shot, the second homer against Hamels. ... Kyle Seager started the second with a homer after the Rangers had scored twice in the first. ... Matt Bush pitched for the first time since Aug. 20 and logged a scoreless inning. ... Jake Diekman walked to and struck out two in a scoreless eighth. 　　

How Rangers hitters fared: Offense hasn’t been much of a problem for the Rangers lately, as they scored at least four runs for the eighth time in nine games. ... The big hits came from Nomar Mazara and Shin-Soo Choo, who collected two-run doubles in the first and second innings. ... Delino DeShields had a solo homer in the fifth, his second hit of the game. His first was a bunt hit in the second inning after video review. He then scored on Choo’s double. ... DeShields and Choo were the only players with multiple hits. ... Robinson Chirinos had one in his first at-bat. He has reached in 25 straight games.

This story was originally published September 11, 2017 at 10:45 PM with the headline "Hamels rebounds to help Rangers top Mariners."