M’s take down Texas

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ichiro Suzuki had a three-run double in between homers by Jose Guillen and Jose Vidro during a seven-run sixth inning, and the Mariners took advantage of an exhausted Texas Rangers squad in a 9-4 win Thursday night.

The Rangers, worn out after scoring 39 runs in a doubleheader and then not getting home until after 4 a.m., couldn’t keep up with A.L. wild-card leader Seattle.

“They scored 30-plus runs, but they played a doubleheader. It’s hot. They got here late,” Ichiro said. “I feel bad for them.”

The Rangers led 3-1 against Seattle after a pair of two-out homers: Brad Wilkerson’s two-run drive in the third and a solo shot by Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the fourth. Wilkerson finished 4 for 4.

But Seattle’s big inning put the game out of reach.

Seattle is 18-7 since a seven-game losing streak last month and has a two-game lead in the wild-card standings ahead of the New York Yankees, who were off Thursday. The Mariners also moved within one game of the A.L. West-leading Los Angeles Angels.

“Hopefully, they were tired,” Mariners starter Jeff Weaver said of the Rangers. That (39 runs) is very impressive, no doubt. But you don’t like to think about that stuff. Texas’ lineup is still very potent. It’s just a matter of time before we break through. We feel really good about our team.”

Weaver (6-10) won his fourth straight start in August.

Adrian Beltre, Raul Ibanez, Kenji Johjima and Guillen had two hits apiece. Johjima’s RBI single in the second gave Seattle a 1-0 lead.

Notes

The Mariners called up right-hander Rick White from Triple-A Tacoma and optioned left-hander John Parrish to the minors before Thursday night’s game. The 38-year-old White signed a minor league contract with the Mariners on July 23 and was 1-1 with two saves and a 1.00 ERA in seven games for Tacoma.

White is pitching for his 11th major league franchise, tied with six others for second most in big-league history. Mike Morgan played for 12 teams from 1978-2002.