M’s end six-game skid

ARLINGTON, Texas – A day after getting ejected for the first time in his career, Raul Ibanez got the Seattle Mariners off to a fast start.

The singles kept coming and coming, except for a three-run homer by Ibanez, as the Mariners ended a six-game losing streak with a 14-5 victory over the Texas Rangers Wednesday.

“We had a shark mentality,” Ibanez said.

The Mariners set a season high for runs, scoring one more than they did combined during the losing streak. Of their 18 hits, 17 were singles – and many of those were grounders through the infield.

Ibanez put the Mariners ahead to stay with an RBI single in the first, and his eighth homer of the season came in a six-run third that made it 7-0.

“Raul’s three-run homer gave us a lift and from there we pecked away and found some holes,” manager Mike Hargrove said. “So much of this game is confidence. We haven’t had a lot of confidence-building the last six, seven days.”

Seattle had a 7-0 lead and 11 hits in 2 2/3 innings against rookie left-hander John Koronka (4-3).

“Command was an issue for him,” Texas manager Buck Showalter said. “He left a lot of balls over the plate. And he paid the price for it.”

Ichiro Suzuki went 3 for 5 – his major league-best 25th multihit game – with a walk and scored four times while playing in his team-record 294th consecutive game for the Mariners, who finished 1-5 on their road trip. Edgar Martinez played in 293 straight from 1994-96.

Gary Matthews Jr. went 3 for 4, including his first career grand slam – and the second in less than 24 hours for the Rangers.

Felix Hernandez (4-6) faced the minimum 12 batters through the first four innings, even after taking a ball off his right biceps to start the third. Seattle’s 20-year-old right-hander benefited from a pair of double plays before running into trouble in the fifth that set up Matthews’ 433-foot shot into the second deck of seats in right field.

Hernandez allowed seven hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked one.

“I was uncomfortable after I got hit in the arm, but I tried to stay relaxed and make my pitches,” Hernandez said. “The offense and defense really supported me.”