ARLINGTON, Texas — Joc Pederson homered twice to drive in four runs and Ezequiel Duran and Jake Burger also went deep for the Texas Rangers in a 7-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Monday. The Mariners dropped three-of-four in the series to fall 2 1/2 games back of the Rangers in the AL West.
All four homers came in the first three innings off George Kirby (8-9). The right-hander had been 9-1 with a 1.33 ERA in his previous 13 career starts against the Rangers.
Texas righty Kumar Rocker (4-8) struck out seven while allowing two runs over 6 2/3 innings. He had thrown one-hit ball over six scoreless innings six days earlier in a win against the Chicago White Sox.
The Rangers (54-52), the only AL West team with a winning record, had a half-game lead over the Mariners before winning the first two games of the series. Seattle (52-55) won 6-4 Sunday, when Texas lost for the first time this season when leading after six innings.
After Randy Arozarena’s tying homer in the second, Pederson hit a three-run shot in the bottom of the inning. Pederson’s 19th homer, his 13th hit in a span of 29 at-bats, landed in the first row of seats just beyond the wall in right.
It was the third time in Kirby’s 132 starts over five seasons that he allowed four homers in a game. He struck out three without a walk in four innings.
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