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Mariners pitch past struggling Rangers

Apr 29, 2015 - 4:20 AM Arlington, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - J.A. Happ turned in another strong start and Rickie Weeks belted a solo home run that helped the Seattle Mariners to a 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park.

Happ (2-1) struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings in a fourth straight quality start to begin the season, with the veteran lefty holding Texas' sputtering offense to a run on six hits.

He got help from Weeks' fourth-inning blast and a 3-for-4 effort at the plate from Nelson Cruz, who finished a homer shy of the cycle in Seattle's fourth consecutive win over the Rangers this season.

"There's nothing like winning, but the guys are grinding at-bats out," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "We're going to break out and they are going to score runs. I think it is right around the corner."

Texas has now lost five of six overall and mustered only a single run in the last three of those defeats, including Monday's 3-1 loss to the Mariners in the series opener.

Ross Detwiler (0-3) had his best outing of the season for the Rangers, yielding just two runs and fanning five over 5 1/3 innings, but Texas managed only six hits other than Delino DeShields Jr.'s RBI double in the seventh.

"I felt like it was a step in the right direction," Detwiler said. "Definitely not completely there. There are a few pitches I want back obviously, but it was a lot better than the first few (starts)."

Happ set down 11 of the first 13 Texas hitters to begin his latest solid performance, and the Mariners staked him to a lead behind a pair of big hits off Detwiler in the fourth.

Cruz began the inning with a triple and crossed the plate on a grounder by Kyle Seager, which preceded Weeks' screaming liner that cleared the wall in left center to extend the margin to 2-0.

Detwiler, who escaped out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning, kept Seattle off the board until having his evening end on a one-out walk to Seager in the sixth. Anthony Bass took over and promptly induced a double-play ball from Weeks that kept it a two-run game.

Happ continued to stifle the Rangers' lineup, though. He struck out the side around a single and a walk in the fourth, then fanned all three he faced an inning later and tossed another zero in the sixth.

Happ then got two more outs following Jake Smolinski's leadoff single in the seventh, but DeShields drilled a fastball off the wall in left center to put Texas on the board and end the lefty's night.

The Rangers came up with just one more hit against five Seattle relievers, however, with Fernando Rodney striking out two over a 1-2-3 ninth that earned him his sixth save.

Game Notes

Texas has lost four straight to the Mariners in a season for the first time since 2007 ... The Rangers were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and are 4-for-38 in those situations over their last six games ... Detwiler had served up three homers and permitted seven runs over 2 1/3 innings when facing the Mariners in Seattle on April 19 ... Texas dropped to 2-10 in games in which it failed to homer ... The Mariners will aim for a series sweep when they send out ace Felix Hernandez in Wednesday's finale, with Wandy Rodriguez getting the call for the Rangers.