Rangers rookie stymies M’s

ARLINGTON, Texas – John Rheinecker got his first-game jitters out of the way in April. His second major league start went a lot smoother.

Rheinecker allowed four hits in 8 1/3 innings and Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer to lead the Texas Rangers to a 2-0 victory over Seattle on Monday, the Mariners’ fifth straight loss.

Rheinecker (1-0), who was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma earlier Monday, struck out six, walked one and had 13 groundball outs. The left-hander made his major league debut April 22 – two runs and seven hits in four innings in a no-decision against Tampa Bay – and was 2-1 with a 3.26 ERA in nine starts for Oklahoma.

“I was a lot more confident going out there this time,” Rheinecker said. “I wasn’t as nervous. I had a lot of confidence in (catcher Rod) Barajas.”

Seattle, shut out for a major league-high seventh time this season, got one runner as far as third base – in the ninth inning.

Detailing areas of improvement from his debut, Rheinecker said, “Location, keeping the ball down and hitting spots. The minors ain’t like this. You have to have command of every pitch at all times.”

The Mariners, hitting .220 against left-handers, managed only four singles off Rheinecker.

“He was outstanding,” Rangers manager Buck Showalter said. “He was down in the zone with all four pitches. Everything was sinking.”

Rheinecker hit Ichiro Suzuki leading off the ninth, then gave up a one-out single to Raul Ibanez and was lifted for Rick Bauer, who got two outs for his first save of 2006 and second of his career.

Seattle is 5-14 in games started by opposing left-handers, and manager Mike Hargrove has no easy solution for that disparity.

“With the hitters we have in our lineup, I’m baffled when anybody shuts us down,” Hargrove said. “There are some questions that don’t have answers.”