Pinch-hitter Sean Rodriguez had a go-ahead single in the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays rallied past the Seattle Mariners 4-1 Sunday to build their wild-card edge.

James Paxton threw six strong innings allowing just one earned run in his major league debut, Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales hit solo homers and the Seattle Mariners continued Tampa Bay on their West Coast slide with a 6-2 win over the Rays on Saturday night.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – This was the crib-noted version of the entire Mariners season played out for those who only had time for 13 innings. There was Raul Ibanez again keeping his team on life support in Thursday’s ninth inning with a tying home run when down to his final strike. But the Mariners had already frittered away a five-run lead, then wound up taking yet another walkoff loss in extra innings, 7-6 to the Kansas City Royals.

This was the crib-noted version of the entire Mariners season played out for those who only had time for 13 innings.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A calendar is part of any manager’s toolbox for setting pitcher schedules, projecting the return of injured players and generally just planning ahead. But for Mariners manager Eric Wedge, his calendar now doubles as a nagging alarm bell going off inside his brain. One look at it tells him there are four weeks left in a season in which his Mariners, beaten 3-1, on Monday by the Kansas City Royals, look to already be staggering toward the finish.

HOUSTON – One inning was all the Mariners needed to continue their recent mastery of the worst team in baseball. The Mariners scored three first-inning runs and then didn’t do much of anything the rest of the way. But it was enough to post a 3-1 win on Saturday over a Houston Astros squad that they have beaten the last six times they’ve faced each other at Minute Maid Park.

Franklin Gutierrez hit a two-run homer after Nick Franklin gave Seattle an early lead with a solo shot and the Mariners held on for a 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Thursday night to end a six-game skid.

Top prospect Taijuan Walker will make his major league debut for Seattle on Friday, taking on the Houston Astros less than three weeks after turning 21.

SEATTLE – Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge didn’t intend to shake things up, but that’s what happened on Monday. Franklin Gutierrez returned from the disabled list and was inserted right into the starting lineup after nursing a strained right hamstring. He batted third in his third start since June to open the series against the Texas Rangers.

Mariners pitcher Joe Saunders didn’t start well Monday, giving up two runs in the opening inning and another two in the fourth. In the seventh, A.J. Pierzynski smashed a three-run homer to right in the seventh inning and the Texas Rangers defeated Seattle 8-3 at Safeco Field.