“I was driving down the street and I saw people in tank tops and T-shirts,” McLaren said Monday before his team took the field to begin a seven-game homestand at Safeco Field. “I felt good about it. It’s good to be home. And needless to say we’ve got to start winning some ballgames. There couldn’t be a better time than right here at home.”

For one night, at least, there was no place like home.

After five losses in a row on the road, the Mariners returned to Seattle, jumped on Texas early, and held on for a 7-3 win that moves them one game ahead of the last-place Rangers (13-20) in the American League West standings.

“We responded very nicely,” McLaren said after the game. “We swung the bats a lot better, and it was very positive. … It’s a good start to the homestand, and we hope to get this thing snowballing.”

While this was an evening devoted to silver linings – ending the losing streak, finding an offensive pulse, sweating out a scoreless ninth from J.J. Putz – there was one cloud: Starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn left in the seventh inning with tightness in his right calf.

McLaren said he doesn’t expect Washburn to miss a start.

Washburn said he hopes that’s correct.

Washburn said he tweaked the calf while warming up before the game. Then after six shutout innings, he tweaked it worse.

“And, like an idiot, I tried pitching through it,” he added.

In the seventh, Washburn was greeted with three consecutive hits before McLaren and the medical staff got him off the mound. By the time the inning was over, the Rangers had their three runs.

However, the Mariners still had breathing room thanks to an explosion of early offense that resulted in seven runs over the first three innings, making it a short night for Texas starter Kevin Millwood.

“(Run support) means a lot,” Washburn said. “… We have a talented offense. It was just a matter of time before a game like this was going to come. We’re too good and we have too many good offensive guys on the team to keep struggling like we have been. It was just a matter of time.”

Seattle opened the game with three consecutive hits. Ichiro Suzuki's leadoff double was followed by a Jose Lopez single and a Raul Ibañez double to make it 2-0.

In the second, the bottom of the order contributed to another run.

The third inning brought four more behind a 414-foot home run to dead center by Richie Sexson, and a 399-footer by Wladimir Balentien, who had gotten off to a slow start since being called up last week from Tacoma.

“I just tried to do too much the first couple of games when I got called up,” Balentien said. “I tried to swing on everything. (Monday) was different. I was looking for my pitches and not the pitcher’s pitch. It makes it more easy when you get your pitch to hit.”

In this case, his pitch was a fastball, middle in, which he launched over the left-field wall.

The Mariners (14-19) managed only one more hit the rest of the way, but Washburn and Sean Green protected the lead into the ninth. Then Putz came in, gave up a couple of hits and went 3-1 on Frank Catalanotto – one ball from bringing the tying run to the plate – before drawing the pop up that settled it.

“It was nice seeing the big fella coming out of the bullpen,” McLaren said. “He’s still getting there, too. … He’s building his velocity back up. Green did a nice job. I was really happy for Balentien to drive that ball out of the ballpark; and of course, big Richie. Ichiro is really starting to go on a tear, and that’s good to see. …

“Right now our thoughts are .500: Let’s get to .500 and we’re out of the hole and go on from there.”

Don Ruiz: 253-597-8808

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