Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Yu Darvish tossed seven strong innings and Elvis Andrus had three RBI as the Texas Rangers downed the Seattle Mariners, 9-3, in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.

Darvish (15-9) allowed one run on two hits and two walks. He also struck out nine to give him 205 strikeouts for the season, making him 16th rookie since 1900 to record 200 strikeouts.

Josh Hamilton homered and knocked in two runs, while Ian Kinsler also hit a home run for the AL West-leading Rangers, who have won three of their last four.

Hisashi Iwakuma (6-5) surrendered two runs on seven hits and a walk through 5 1/3 innings for Seattle, which dropped two straight and six of its last nine.

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