Mariners 1, Rangers 0: Blake Beavan tossed seven strong innings and Michael Saunders belted a solo homer in the second as host Seattle evened its season series with Texas at nine wins apiece.

Justin Smoak continued his torrid streak with a pair of hits to improve to 15-for-31 over his last eight games. Kyle Seager added two hits of his own for the Mariners, who won their second straight after a four-game skid.

The setback kept the Rangers four games ahead of Oakland in the American League West. The Athletics dropped a 10-9 decision in 14 innings to the New York Yankees on Saturday.

Saunders accounted for all of the scoring by depositing a curveball from Matt Harrison (17-10) into the first row in right-center field in the second inning. The blast was Saunders' 17th homer - and third in eight games.

The modest offense proved to be enough for Beavan (10-10) and company. Beavan snapped a two-game slide despite yielding eight hits and reliever Josh Kinney worked out of a bases-loaded jam by retiring all three batters he faced. Tom Wilhelmsen worked a clean ninth inning to secure his 29th save.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Texas' Adrian Beltre went 1-for-4 in his return to the lineup after missing the series opener due to pain his stomach. Beltre admitted that tests revealed he has scar tissue from a previous surgery which presses against his intestines. ... Harrison suffered the hard-luck loss and fell to 4-1 versus Seattle this season and 10-2 in his career. He permitted one run on seven hits in eight innings. ... The Rangers lost consecutive games for the first time since a three-game skid on Aug. 13-15.