Padilla, Rangers blank punchless Mariners

SEATTLE – Vicente Padilla allowed two hits over seven innings to outpitch Erik Bedard and Milton Bradley homered as the Texas Rangers beat the struggling Seattle Mariners 2-0 Wednesday night.

Bradley hit his fourth home run in the sixth and scored both runs. Brandon Boggs had a run-scoring triple in the fourth.

Padilla (5-2), who has won three straight starts, walked two and struck out a season-high eight. He has allowed just one run in his last three starts, spanning 212/3 innings. He lowered his overall ERA to 3.02.

Mariners starter Bedard (2-2) allowed two runs on six hits in his seven innings.

Padilla opened the game by hitting Ichiro Suzuki but he didn’t allow him to advance past first. In the second, Yuniesky Betancourt had a one-out single to center, but he was eliminated on a double play.

The next 12 batters were retired by Padilla until Ichiro’s two-out single in the sixth. The hit raised Ichiro’s average against Padilla to .571 (16 for 28). But Padilla struck out Jose Lopez to end the inning. Lopez had been the toughest to strike out in the A.L., once every 20.9 at-bats.

Padilla ran into trouble of his own making in the seventh, walking the first two batters, Raul Ibanez and Adrian Beltre, on 3-2 counts. He then struck out Jeff Clement, Betancourt and Wladimir Balentien.

Bedard, who allowed a couple harmless singles through three innings, yielded a one-out single to Bradley in the fourth. Then with two outs, Boggs pulled a high fastball into the left-center gap. Bradley scored easily and Boggs reached third without a throw.

Bradley hit a 0-1 pitch from Bedard into the left-field bullpen with two outs in the sixth.

C.J. Wilson came on in the ninth to pick up his eight save in nine opportunities.

The M’s, who have lost seven of eight, have scored just one run since the third inning Monday. Over their last 23 innings, they have produced one run on 10 hits in 78 at-bats for a .128 average.