ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Ben Davis delivered a go-ahead two-run double in the top of the seventh inning as the Seattle Mariners spoiled the Texas Rangers' home opener with a 6-4 victory.
Texas had taken a 4-3 lead in the fifth on two-run homers by Ruben Sierra and Hank Blalock, but the Mariners rallied after Rangers reliever Francisco Cordero (0-1) retired the first two batters in the seventh.
Mark McLemore and Jeff Cirillo walked before Davis ripped a 2-2 pitch to the left-center field gap to give the Mariners a 5-4 lead. McLemore provided insurance with an RBI single off Esteban Yan.
"(Cordero) was throwing pretty hard, but I choked up a little bit and was able to hit the gap," Davis said. "We scored a bunch of runs with two outs, and that's a sign of a good team."
"That's the way the team is," Mariners manager Bob Melvin added. "It's not really a home run team, and when we get hits with two outs it builds confidence that you can score runs until you get three outs."
Seattle starter Ryan Franklin (1-0) got the win, allowing four runs and six hits in six innings with two walks and four strikeouts.
"I was happy going six or seven innings and giving up four runs," Franklin said. "That's a tough lineup, especially here. But the most important thing was we got the win."
Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki combined for three scoreless innings in relief for the Mariners. Sasaki struck out four in an overpowering inning for his first save of the season.
After fanning out pinch hitter Todd Greene, Sasaki also got Carl Everett, who reached on a wild pitch. The hard-throwing closer shook it off by striking out Michael Young and pinch hitter David Lamb.
"I blew a save yesterday, so I wanted to go in there today and do my job. And I did that," Sasaki said. "I really wanted this one, so I wanted to give it all I had. I felt much better today."
Seattle was making its first appearance at the Ballpark in Arlington since getting swept in a four-game series in September - four losses that helped keep the Mariners out of the playoffs.
Ismael Valdes, who beat the Anaheim Angels on Opening Day, was in line to get his second victory as he left after six innings with a 4-3 lead.
"I feel good about our team," Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez said. "Cordero had a rough day, but I'm comfortable with everyone on our team. I like the energy we're playing with and we're putting ourselves in good situations. We're just getting overanxious."
The Rangers have lost three in a row since their Opening Day win and their offense has been one-dimensional. Of the 15 runs Texas has scored in its first four games, 14 have come via eight home runs.
"That's just the way it's been now," first baseman Rafael Palmeiro said. "We'll be able to manufacture runs. We've only played four games."
The seesaw affair featured four lead changes. After the Mariners opened the scoring on Edgar Martinez's solo homer in the top of the first, the Rangers answered on Sierra's blast in the second.
Seattle grabbed a 3-2 lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Martinez and a run-scoring double by Mike Cameron.
Again Franklin could not hold it as Einar Diaz doubled and scored on Blalock's homer in the fifth.
