Mariners Face Rangers Again at Safeco

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From Monsters and Critics.com

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Mariners face Rangers again at Safeco By TSN Jun 2, 2007, 15:35 GMT

- On a night when the Seattle Mariners celebrate one of the best designated hitters in the history of baseball, the team tries to gain some ground in the race for the top spot in the American League West as they host the Texas Rangers in the third of a four-game set at Safeco Field.

An hour prior to the first pitch tonight the Mariners, currently second in the division behind only the Angels, will make Edgar Martinez just the fourth inductee into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame.

The all-time leader in batting average for the club at .312, who also ranks first with 2,247 hits, Martinez would have come in handy had he been in action last night when the Mariners lost to Texas in a 9-8 decision. The team's third loss in the last four outings, Seattle got a pair of hits and three runs scored from the current hitting star of the club, Ichiro Suzuki, but it still wasn't enough.

Starter Jarrod Washburn lasted only 3 2/3 innings, giving up four earned runs on nine hits and four walks and failed to strike out a single batter. Of the five relievers used by the home team, it was Sean Green who was saddled with the loss.

On the other side Joaquin Benoit was credited with the victory for the Rangers, snapping a two-game slide and giving them just their second triumph in the last 10 outings. While Eric Gagne earned his fourth save of the campaign, starter Kevin Millwood was touched for seven runs, just four earned, on 10 hits over five innings of work in the 300th appearance of his career.

Kenny Lofton proved to be the hero of the game for the visitors as he knocked in the winning run in the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly and also took away a potential home run from Adrian Beltre with his glove in the seventh.

Victor Diaz and Marlon Byrd both finished with three hits for the Rangers, with the former and Sammy Sosa both knocking in a pair of runs.

Since opening the 2007 campaign coming out of the bullpen, Kameron Loe has found his way into the starting rotation for the Rangers and is again scheduled to take the hill tonight for the club in Seattle.

On April 15 the four-year vet managed just three innings in his first appearance of the season at the Mariners, giving up four runs in what became a 14-6 triumph for the home team. Six days later, while still without a decision to his credit, Loe managed to land in the win column against Oakland, but since then he has yet to return.

On Sunday the Cal State-Northridge product again did not factor into the decision, but his Rangers were still defeated by a score of 6-5 by Boston at home. Loe permitted three runs on seven hits over six innings as the team lost his fourth straight appearance.

Of his 13 career victories, against 16 setbacks, the righthander is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA against Seattle.

On the other side of the field the Mariners seem to be satisfied with handing the ball to righthander Miguel Batista.

Now in his 13th season in the major leagues, Batista has won his last two starts and is now a game over .500 at 5-4 thanks to a 12-5 victory versus the Angels on Monday in southern California.

In that contest the Dominican native was touched for four runs on nine hits and four walks, while striking out four in 5 1/3 innings.

Already 1-0 against Texas this season, Batista is 2-3 with a 4.98 ERA in his career versus tonight's opponent.

Although he had one taken away from him on Friday, Beltre still leads the Mariners in home runs this season with nine and is also first with 14 doubles. Suzuki is batting .338 and leads the club with 73 hits and 41 runs scored, while Richie Sexson has shown signs of life over the last six games with three home runs and 10 RBI to offset his miserable .208 batting average on the season somewhat.

As for the Rangers, a resurgent Sosa is tied with Ian Kinsler for the home run lead with 10 and is also first on the club with 41 RBI, even though he is hitting just .250 and has struck out 49 times in 49 games. Mark Teixeira has fanned a team-high 50 times, but at least he's hitting close to .300 at the moment.

Although they are just 2-4 versus Seattle so far this season, the Rangers have won the season series against the Mariners in each of the three previous campaign, going a combined 36-21 during that stretch.

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