ARLINGTON, Texas -- Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon thinks Kendrys Morales brings a certain presence to the lineup, even if he hasnt hit many home runs this season. Morales launched two of Seattles four homers in a 7-5 win over Texas on Friday night, handing the Rangers their seventh straight loss only hours after manager Ron Washington resigned unexpectedly. "A lot of times its not all black and white when it comes to what a guy does in a lineup, and he stretches out our lineup quite a bit," McClendon said of Morales, who came in hitting .224 with four homers. "He brings respectability to our lineup. Tonight was a big night for him." The Mariners, who are in a tight race with Oakland and Detroit atop the AL wild-card standings, won their fourth straight after losing five of their previous seven games. Interim Texas manager Tim Bogar took the familiar seat along the railing of the home dugout long occupied by Washington, who said in a statement that he was stepping down to devote all his time to an "off-the-field personal matter." The Rangers wouldnt elaborate. Washington walked away before the end of his eighth season a day after the Rangers became the first team in the majors mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Only three years ago, Washington took Texas to consecutive World Series. It was the debut as a big league manager for Bogar, who was in his first season as Washingtons bench coach. He was a minor league manager for five seasons. "I dont think fans here in this area have seen anybody in that seat for eight years," Bogar said. "And Ive got to do it after an icon, so its a little bittersweet." Morales went deep to right field against Scott Baker (3-4) to put the Mariners ahead 2-0 in the second inning. His sixth homer of the season was another two-run shot in the sixth. "I havent gotten there as fast as I would have liked, but hopefully today is the start of something better," Morales said through a translator. Mike Zunino became the first Seattle catcher with 20 homers, breaking Miguel Olivos club record of 19 set in 2011. Brad Miller hit his 10th. Hisashi Iwakuma (14-6) matched Felix Hernandez for the team lead in wins. Iwakuma won his fifth decision in a row, allowing three runs with five strikeouts in 5 1-3 innings. Fernando Rodney gave up a run in the ninth but finished for his 42nd save in 45 chances. The Rangers loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth against the Japanese right-hander, who got Elvis Andrus on a double-play grounder that scored a run and escaped the inning with another groundout to second from Tomas Telis. HEADS UP Iwakuma ended up catching a line drive from Ryan Rua in a purely defensive move with the ball headed for his face in the second inning. Iwakuma turned his head just as the ball reached his glove, with a wide-eyed look of relief. The scare came a batter after Adrian Beltre hit a sharp one-hopper that glanced off Iwakumas glove to second baseman Robinson Cano, who threw out Beltre at first. "Just reaction," Iwakuma said. "I didnt even know the ball was in the glove." TRAINERS ROOM Mariners: RF Endy Chavez left in the fifth inning after getting cut above his left eye sliding headfirst into second base on a successful steal. His helmet appeared to cause the cut when it came off just as his head collided with the left knee of Texas SS Luis Sardinas. Chavez, who got three stitches, was not diagnosed with a concussion and was expected to be available Saturday. Rangers: RF Alex Rios has an infection associated with the bruise on his right thumb and will be out at least a week. ... There was no update from team doctors on the latest exam of Yu Darvishs right elbow. UP NEXT Mariners RHP Chris Young, a Dallas native who had his major league debut with the Rangers nine years ago, makes his second start of the season in Texas home park. Hes coming off the shortest start of his career after allowing five runs in two-thirds of an inning in a 6-1 loss to Oakland. Rangers RHP Nick Martinez faces Seattle for the second time in three starts. He gave up five runs with four walks and no strikeouts in five innings of a 5-0 loss on Aug. 26. Detroit Tigers Pro Shop .J. - Henrik Lundqvist has done more than set a couple of franchise records for the New York Rangers this week. Tigers Jerseys 2019 . Messis father, Jorge Horacio Messi, is apparently still under investigation for an alleged 4 million euros ($5.3 million) in unpaid taxes from Messis image rights from 2007-09. Messis public relations firm confirmed Spanish media reports that the state prosecutor has asked for Messi to be dropped from the investigation that began in June 2013. https://www.cheaptigers.com/. With the Canadiens leading by one to start the third period, Price turned away 16 shots by the Panthers in the final frame to give Montreal a 2-1 victory over Florida on Monday night. The Panthers (16-21-6) outshot Montreal 16-10 in the final frame, but were repeatedly frustrated by Price, who made 26 saves on the night. Detroit Tigers Shirts . He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. Tigers Jerseys China . -- During a players meeting following the All-Star break, Jermaine ONeal promised his teammates to play the rest of the regular season like he would never play again -- because he very well might not.TORONTO - Officials of the National Hockey League and the general public may find it unexpected to see chipmunk-cheeked hockey stars who have contracted mumps. But to public health experts, an outbreak in this setting is not surprising, given the ages of the athletes and the conditions under which they play.At least five NHL teams have reported 15 players who have contracted the mumps virus. The most high profile is Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, captured in photographs with one swollen cheek. Late Tuesday, the Penguins confirmed forward Beau Bennett is also infected.Teams have been scrambling to get their players revaccinated against the virus. Its a smart move; mumps outbreaks can last for months if the virus gets into a group of susceptible people.Given that theyre going to continue to be exposed to each other with their very busy schedule, this could fester for a while, Dr. Greg Wallace, a mumps expert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, said Tuesday of the NHL outbreak. Vaccinating NHL teams should help to shorten the length of this outbreak. But it takes several weeks for the vaccine to generate a good antibody response, and the vaccine doesnt protect in 100 per cent of cases.As well, the incubation period of the disease is long — 12 to 25 days. So there could be players now who are infected but unaware of that fact, meaning more players could be sidelined with mumps over the next three weeks. The mumps virus can cause inflammation in the salivary glands found in the cheek, under the tongue or under the jawbone, leading to the characteristic facial swelling. Both sides of the face can be affected, but it isnt uncommon to see only one side puff up.The once common viral disease infected most people in childhood before a mumps vaccine was introduced in the early 1970s.The use of vaccine has reduced the number of mumps cases in Canada by about 99 per cent, said Dr. Gaston De Serres, an infectious diseases expert with Quebecs provincial public health agency.But sporadic outbreaks continue to be recorded. A large epidemic occurred in 2006 and 2007; the outbreak, which began in Nova Scotia, eventually stretched to all 10 provinces, though several had fewer than two dozen cases. The total for that outbreak was 1,284, 777 of them in Nova Scotia.Contemporary outbreaks often happen in groups of people who have close interactions. University campuses have been the site or source of many outbreaks in recent years, said Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbias deputy provincial health officer.The virus is spread through saliva droplets, so activities like kissing or sharing a cigarette or marijuana joint can propel the virus through groups of students, she said.Its easy to see the opportunities for spread among hockey players. In fact, Dr. Shelley Deeks of Public Health Ontario agreed hockey provides a perfect scenario for spread of the mumps virus. There are the cramped quarters on the bench and in the locker-room. The shared water bottles. Players coughing or gasping to recover their breath after the exertion of a breakaway or a busy shift. The nose-to-nose jostling that can be the foreplay of a fight.Youve got this group of people who are relatively susceptible given their age and then you introduce a virus into that population, said Deeks, who is the Ontario agencys medical director for immunization and vaccinee preventable disease.ddddddddddddBut why are the NHLers relatively susceptible? After all, they are of an age where they were likely vaccinated against mumps in childhood. And any — like Crosby — who played in the Sochi Olympics earlier this year were likely given a booster dose of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — though the concern heading to Sochi was measles, not mumps.Anyone born before 1970 is assumed to have had mumps in childhood because the virus circulated routinely then. And even those born between 1970 and 1980 are thought to have pretty good protection. They would have received a dose of vaccine, but they may too have gotten the mumps — the virus still circulated during that time.After 1980, though, mumps became rarer as the effect of vaccination programs took hold, Deeks explained.But in the early days of mumps vaccination, it was thought one dose would suffice to immunize children for life. Later it became apparent that wasnt true and a two-dose regimen was adopted in Canada around 1997, Henry said.Even at two doses, the mumps vaccine is not the most effective vaccine on the market. During a 2011 outbreak in British Columbia, about five per cent of the 132 cases were people who had received two doses of vaccine.Its not a perfect vaccine. And there are some people who will have two doses and will still get sick with it. If theyve been exposed and theyve had a high level of exposure, then they may not have enough antibody to protect them, Henry said.Wallace said two doses of mumps vaccine protect about 88 per cent of people from the mumps virus. So its easy to imagine if youve got 100 players and staff who are basically constantly together during the season, that if theyre all exposed you could potentially see 10, 12, 15 getting it.But keep in mind todays hockey players are from the cohort that typically received only one vaccination. At one dose, the vaccine is thought to protect between 60 and 90 per cent of people, Henry said.Containing a mumps outbreak can be tough. Wallace said an infected person is contagious a day or two before he or she shows symptoms of being ill. That means you can isolate a hockey player once you know he has mumps. But by then he may have already spread the virus to a teammate or an opponent.Also, the severity of symptoms varies, with some people showing few or barely any symptoms. Wallace said it is not known if people with very mild mumps are as contagious as people with more severe symptoms.In addition to the swelling of salivary glands, mumps can cause inflammation in the testicles in post-pubescent males, the breast tissue of pubescent girls and the ovaries of females past puberty, De Serres said.Orchitis — the swelling of one or both testicles — happens in about one-third of mumps cases in adult males, he said.Many people believe mumps that involve orchitis can lead to infertility. But that is rarely true. Its something that people talk about, but its impact on fertility, its not big, said Wallace. In some cases, mumps can lead to permanent deafness — generally in one ear, on the side where swelling occurred. It can also trigger meningitis — inflammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord — and on rare occasions, encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain.But the complication rates tend to be lower among people who have been vaccinated. ' ' '