Arlington, TX - John Rheinecker dominated the Mariners for seven innings, and the Texas Rangers held on for a 2-1 win over Seattle in the first game of a doubleheader.
Rheinecker (1-0), in just his second start of the season and the 15th of his career, quieted the Mariners’ offense, allowing only six hits and one unearned run, striking out four and walking one. Marlon Byrd went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple for the Rangers, who have won three of four.
Joaquin Benoit pitched a scoreless eighth, and Eric Gagne picked up his 15th save.
Ryan Feierabend (1-4), recalled from Triple-A Tacoma Tuesday to make the start, kept the Rangers in the game in his ninth career start, allowing six hits and two runs through five innings with two strikeouts and no walks. Jason Ellison went 2-for-3, the only player with multiple hits for the Mariners, who have lost four straight.
The Mariners, looking to rebound from a tough 8-7 loss on Monday’s series opener, plated a run in the first. Jose Lopez worked a one-out walk, moved up to third when Michael Young’s error allowed Jose Guillen to reach second, and scored on Adrian Beltre’s groundout.
The Rangers knotted the game in the fourth. Sammy Sosa laced a two-out double to left, and came home on Byrd’s triple, his sixth of the season, in the gap in left-center.
Texas then moved on top with another two-out run in the fifth. Travis Metcalf got the two-out rally started with a double to left, and Frank Catalanotto’s single put runners at the corners. Young then singled into left, scoring the go-ahead run.
Kenji Johjima roped a leadoff single to left in the ninth for Seattle, but that was as close to tying the game as the Mariners would get. Young speared pinch-hitter Jose Vidro’s hard one-hopper to short and threw to second for the fielder’s choice, and Gagne fanned pinch-hitters Ben Broussard and Raul Ibanez to end the game.
Game Notes
To clear space for Feierabend, the Mariners optioned pitcher Ryan Rowland- Smith to Tacoma on Tuesday…Seattle left eight men on base.
