Seattle Mariners 5, Texas Rangers 0 (doubleheader)

by PegNews wire

ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers finally split a doubleheader Sunday night, losing the second game 5-0 to the Seattle Mariners at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The loss dropped Texas to 80-62 on the season.

The loss also meant a fall in the standings for the Rangers, who are now a full four games behind the Boston Red Sox for the wild card, and six games behind the LA Angels for first place in the AL West. The Rangers can make up ground on the Angels in their critical series against them this weekend.

It was also a historic night in baseball, as longtime singles-hitter Ichiro Suzuki broke a 108 year-old record, collecting his 200th hit of the season and becoming the first baseball player in history to attain 200 hits in nine consecutive seasons. Ichiro had previously held the mark of eight along with Wee Willie Keeler, who played two centuries ago.

Rangers rookie starter Derek Holland pitched poorly, allowing five runs on eight hits over six innings. Holland, who has now lost his last four starts, is now 7-11 with a 6.01 ERA.

Texas' batters could get nothing going against Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, who mowed them down for seven painful innings. The team as a whole managed just six hits, three of them from rookie phenom Julio Borbon, and a single walk.

Posted by Todd M.