MARINERS: Beltre's cycle leads Seattle past Texas

Why, by the sixth inning, Adrian Beltre only had three hits — en route to a five-hit, five-run night in which he became the fourth man in franchise history to hit for the cycle.

After six innings, Seattle was trailing, 6-4, and Carlos Silva was staring at the possibility of his 15th loss of the season. By the time the game ended, most people couldn’t recall who’d started it for either club.

“They score a lot of runs here, because the ball carries,” Beltre said. “You see a lot of doubles and triples and home runs. The infield ground is hard, too, so even if you hit a ground ball, you know there’s a good chance it will go through. It’s definitely a hitters park.”

By the time these two teams stopped playing, they’d combined for 32 hits — 20 by the Mariners — six doubles, a triple and four home runs. And two hit batters, both of whom happened to be Miguel Cairo.

Jeremy Reed, who didn’t even enter the game until the seventh inning, had a hit and two RBI. The man he followed in center field, Wladimir Balentien, had two hits and one RBI.

“I’ve seen a lot of these kinds of games here over the years,” Reed said. “You never feel like the other team is out of it.”

What all that offense produced was Seattle’s fourth consecutive victory — a season high — and the Mariners’ seventh in their past eight games.

Heady stuff for a team still sporting the American League’s worst record.

“It’s been a tough year, but this feels good,” Beltre said. “Who knows, maybe we’ll win 10-15 in a row.” That may be overly optimistic, but manager Jim Riggleman said it’s also vintage Beltre.

“I’ve said many times already, Adrian is the toughest player around — he plays with pain, with injury,” Riggleman said. “He’s such a force on this team. I’m glad he got the cycle. That’s just another notch on his belt.”

As with almost every game the Mariners and Rangers have played here, this one was about momentum, and both teams took turns holding it and giving it back to the other.

Beltre’s second-inning home run, his third in two days and 24th of the year, put Seattle ahead, 1-0. Silva gave that run back in the bottom half of the inning.

The Mariners went ahead, 3-2, when Yuniesky Betancourt picked up his 30th double of the season, Beltre singled him home, then scored on Balentien’s double to the wall in center field.

That lead grew to three in the fourth inning, but then the Rangers chased Silva in the fifth when he got two outs but never a third. He left having thrown 98 pitches, allowed 10 hits and six runs.

Most of Silva’s night, he seemed to labor. It was not a commanding return for a man who has won one game since April.

“I tried to get him through that fifth inning so he could get the win,” Riggleman said. “Sometimes you manage more with your heart than your head. He had 4 innings and needed one out for the win. It backfired.”

After five innings, Seattle trailed, 6-4.

After six innings, it was 6-5.

After seven innings, it was 9-6 — and the Mariners were off and running away.

Up and down the lineup, Mariners hitters were coming through and delivering hits that started or extended rallies, and it was a happy clubhouse afterward — with good reason.

Betancourt had two doubles and a home run. Raul Ibañez two hits and his 95th RBI. Balentien two hits that got his average back to .200. Jamie Burke had two hits and remains a freak of nature, able to sit for a week at a time, then come up big in the games he does play.

And of course, there was Beltre, the Gold Glove third baseman, getting a beer shower from teammates in the clubhouse.

“I don’t like the way it feels, but I’ll take another one tomorrow if it means we keep winning,” Beltre said. For the season, he’s batting .262 with 24 home runs and 72 RBI.

Lost in the offensive fireworks was the work of the Seattle bullpen, which took over in the fifth inning and didn’t allow the Rangers a run the rest of the way.

Sean Green, who got the win, pitched three innings, Jake Woods got the one batter he faced and Justin Thomas — who arrived from

Tacoma mid-afternoon — pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

“I just tried to keep the ball down,” Thomas said.

Small wonder. He’d seen the previous eight innings.