Rangers sweep

ARLINGTON, Tex. – The Seattle Mariners might be the most selfless team in baseball.

After single-handledly propelling the Oakland Athletics to the top of the American League West this season, the Seattle Mariners magnanimously decided to keep the Texas Rangers in the division race.

All but deadlocked in third place when their series began, the Rangers completed a four-game sweep Sunday by laying a 10-6 loss on the Mariners that sent Seattle reeling in two directions – toward the cellar, and toward Oakland.

Now nine games behind the Athletics, Seattle opens a three-game series in Oakland tonight, where they face a team that is 12-1 against them in 2006.

Texas pounded them. Oakland owns them.

Oh, and a starting rotation that is in free fall now has four pitchers with 10 losses or more.

“The series wasn’t what we wanted or what we expected,” manager Mike Hargrove said. “We fell behind a lot of hitters, and one-through-nine, they’ve got an awfully good lineup. You can’t pitch behind to them and get away with it.”

There wasn’t much Hargrove or anyone else in the Seattle clubhouse could say that sounded any more chipper. Texas, thanks to four consecutive wins over the Mariners, is three games over .500 in the A.L. West.

And the Mariners? They are five games under.

Joel Pineiro couldn’t beat the Rangers, nor could Gil Meche or Jamie Moyer. It took Texas longer to beat up Felix Hernandez, but they got around to it – chasing him after a career-high 117 pitches.

“I wanted to win this game, to get us out of this series 3-1,” Hernandez said. “After the first inning, I couldn’t locate my pitches. I’m frustrated. I’m disappointed.”

Unfortunately, what the Mariners probably learned here was that the 45 games left in their season have all become a bit more meaningful if they hope to even get back to .500.

Seattle tried to establish a tone, going ahead in the second inning 2-0 on a Ben Broussard home run and Ichiro Suzuki’s RBI single – his first RBI in 86 at-bats.

The lead lasted until the bottom of the inning, when Gary Matthews hit a three-run double.

The Mariners tied it at 3, and Hernandez held it there until the fifth inning, when the Rangers scored three more and then pulled away. By the ninth inning, it was 10-3 – and a belated three-run rally did little more than stir up the Texas bullpen.

In the end, getting closer in the ninth wasn’t nearly enough to prevent Seattle’s 13th consecutive loss to an A.L. West opponent.

“You can’t explain that,” Bloomquist said quietly.

One of the newest Rangers, Carlos Lee, tried to put the win for Texas in perspective.

“We seem to be doing everything right now,” he said.

And the Seattle Mariners? They’re headed in the opposite direction.

Rangers 10, Mariners 6

a-lined out for Broussard in the 8th. b-tripled for Jones in the 9th. 1-ran for Lee in the 8th. E—Johjima (4), Jones (3). LOB—Seattle 6, Texas 6. 2B—Matthews (38), MYoung (41), CaLee (7), Blalock (20), Barajas (17). 3B—Dobbs (1), MYoung (1). HR—Johjima (13), off Bauer; Broussard (16), off Millwood. RBIs—ISuzuki 2 (37), Broussard 2 (50), Johjima (53), Dobbs (2), Matthews 3 (64), MYoung 2 (79), CaLee 3 (8). SB—Jones (3), CaLee (2), Kinsler (8). SF—ISuzuki, Broussard. Runners left in scoring position—Seattle 3 (YBetancourt, Sexson, Johjima); Texas 3 (Teixeira 2, DeRosa). Runners moved up—Kinsler.

Inherited runners-scored—Green 1-0, Sherrill 2-2. WP—FHernandez 2. T—2:52. A—29,717 (48,911).