By Scott Johnson, The Sports Xchange
SEATTLE — Another night, another two-homer game for a Seattle Mariner.
On Friday night, Seattle rookie Dae-Ho Lee became the fourth Mariners player in as many nights to hit two home runs when he drove in four runs before Seattle held on to beat the Texas Rangers 7-5 in front of 37,055 fans.
The second-place Mariners (34-27) pulled to within three games of the American League West-leading Rangers (37-24).
Seattle overcame a two-home-run night from Mitch Moreland, who was one of one of three Rangers to hit solo shots in the game. Ian Desmond and Ryan Rua also went deep for Texas.
Seattle beat the Rangers for only the second time in seven meetings this season. Texas swept the Mariners in a three-game series last weekend.
Home runs by Lee and Kyle Seager led the Mariners to a 5-1 lead before Rua and Moreland went deep in the seventh to pull the Rangers within 5-3. Desmond’s RBI double in the eighth cut the deficit to 5-4.
Seattle closer Steve Cishek came on with two outs in the eighth inning, getting the final out before the Mariners tacked on two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Seattle took a 6-4 lead when Rua committed a throwing error from left field, then Kyle Seager came in from third on a Seth Smith sacrifice fly for a 7-4 advantage.
Cishek gave up a two-out solo homer to Moreland in the ninth but then struck out Robinson Chirinos to earn his 14th save in 17 opportunities this season.
Both starting pitchers surrendered three home runs in the game.
Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma, who was facing Texas for the second time in less than a week, allowed three runs off seven hits over seven innings. Iwakuma (5-5) struck out three and walked one.
Texas starter Derek Holland also gave up three home runs in his five innings and left the mound with the Rangers trailing 5-1. Holland (5-5) allowed five runs off five hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.
The Mariners became the first team in major league history to have four different players hit two home runs in a game on consecutive days when Dae-Ho Lee homered in the second and fourth innings. Lee followed multi-homer games from Nelson Cruz (Tuesday), Chris Iannetta (Wednesday) and Robinson Cano (Thursday).
The only two times in league history when a team had players hit multi-homers in four straight games came in 1998 (Cubs) and 2000 (Indians). Chicago’s Sammy Sosa did it twice the four-game span in 1998, while Cleveland’s Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez both did it twice in 2000, leaving the 2016 Mariners as the only team to have four different players achieve the feat.
Lee’s second home run, a three-run shot in the fourth, broke a 1-1 tie before teammate Kyle Seager followed with a solo shot for a 5-1 Seattle lead. It marked the first time this season that the Mariners have had back-to-back home runs in a game.
Lee’s first homer, a solo shot in the second inning, put Seattle ahead 1-0. The Rangers’ Ian Desmond tied the score 1-1 with a solo homer in the third inning. It was Desmond’s ninth home run of the season, all of them coming since April 21.
Lee’s two home runs gave him 10 for the season.
NOTES: Seattle activated CF Leonys Martin (hamstring) from the 15-day disabled list before Friday’s game. To make room for Martin, a former Ranger, the Mariners optioned INF Luis Sardinas to Triple-A Tacoma. … Texas 3B Adrian Beltre (hamstring) was not in Friday’s lineup. He is listed as day-to-day. 2B Jurickson Profar started at third base for the second day in a row. … Rangers C Robinson Chirinos (broken forearm), who was activated from the 60-day disabled list Thursday, was back in the lineup for the first time since April 9. … Heading into the series, Texas held a 5-1 record in head-to-head matchups with the Mariners this season. The Rangers swept Seattle in a three-game series in Texas last weekend.