Rangers pound Mariners

ARLINGTON, Texas — Josh Hamilton homered and drove in three runs, C.J. Wilson pitched seven effective innings and the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 12-2 Wednesday night. Hamilton’s two-run shot keyed a six-run burst in the second inning against Ian Snell (0-5). The Rangers are 7-2 against the Mariners this season. Hamilton has three homers and 10 RBIs in his last six games. Michael Young homered and Vladimir Guerrero added three hits for Texas. Seattle has lost five of six. Wilson (5-3) took advantage of the early run support. He overcome a shaky first inning, and allowed two runs and four hits overall. The Mariners took a 2-0 lead in the first on consecutive RBI doubles by Jose Lopez and Josh Wilson. But Snell couldn’t protect the edge in the bottom half as Texas tied it on Young’s solo homer and Guerrero’s RBI double. Texas broke away in the second with Hamilton’s homer and RBI singles by Young, Ian Kinsler and Guerrero. Another runner scored on Snell’s wild pitch. Snell, who hasn’t won since last Sept. 20, allowed seven earned runs and eight hits in 1 2-3 innings, raising his ERA from 4.64 to 5.89. In the fourth, RBI singles by Hamilton and David Murphy off Luke French extended Texas’ lead to 10-2.