ARLINGTON, Texas — Josh Hamilton hit his team-leading 25th home run of the season and collected his major league-best 104th RBI and the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Michael Young had the go-ahead RBI with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and rookie Brandon Boggs homered for the Rangers, who have won seven of their past nine against the Mariners.
With the game tied 3-3, Seattle reliever Arthur Rhodes (2-1) loaded the bases in the eighth with one-out walks to David Murphy, Hamilton and Marlon Byrd.
Young, out of the starting lineup because of a fractured right ring finger, lifted a fly ball to center, and Murphy scored the go-ahead run ahead of Jeremy Reed’s throw.
Young was making his seventh career pinch-hit appearance and first since Aug. 2, 2002.
After the run scored, Rhodes was removed from the game by manager Jim Riggleman. As Rhodes walked toward the dugout, he yelled at home-plate umpire Paul Nauert, apparently disputing a checked swing by Byrd on the walk, and Nauert ejected Rhodes.
Eddie Guardado (2-2) pitched a perfect eighth for the win, and C.J. Wilson got three outs for his 24th save.
Young and Milton Bradley, two of the Rangers’ four All-Stars, didn’t start because of injuries.
Young’s finger was stiff when he came to the ballpark, making it difficult to grip a bat, but he told manager Ron Washington he would be available as a pinch-hitter. Bradley is slowed by a strained left quad muscle.
Texas starter Vicente Padilla gave up three runs and 10 hits in seven innings.
Mariners starter Miguel Batista allowed three runs — two earned — and seven hits in six innings.
Seattle took a 2-0 lead in the second on RBI singles by Willie Bloomquist and Reed.
Solo homers in the second by Hamilton and Boggs pulled Texas even at 2. Jose Lopez’s RBI single in the fifth stretched his hitting streak to 17 games and gave Seattle a 3-2 lead.
Texas pulled even at 3 in the sixth with the help of a throwing error by catcher Kenji Johjima. With runners on first and third and two outs, Boggs took off from first on a steal attempt, Johjima threw wildly for an error, and Murphy trotted home from third with the tying run.
Seattle loaded the bases against Padilla with no outs in the seventh, and Raul Ibanez hit a shallow fly ball. Bloomquist tagged up and tried to score, but Murphy threw a strike from right field to catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who tagged out Bloomquist on a close play.
Notes: Hamilton was the Texas DH to give his legs a break from
playing the outfield. … Texas rookie Chris Davis made his first major league start at 3B. Davis’ first 26 big-league starts had been at 1B, but with Young out, 3B Ramon Vazquez moved to SS.
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