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 Seager let his bat do the talking again on Sunday, when he went
4-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs in the Mariners' 5-1 win
over the Rangers.
In 12 games against the Rangers this season, Seager is hitting .396
with 12 RBIs, five extra-base hits and a .646 slugging percentage.
He is hitting .337 with a .667 slugging percentage against Texas
over his four-year career.
"That's just one of those weird things," he said. "That's baseball.
I'd like to be able to do it against everybody."
Seager drove in the Mariners' first three runs before scoring on
left fielder Dustin Ackley's single in the eighth.
Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma (5-3) allowed just one run off six
hits over eight innings of work as the Mariners (34-35) snapped
their five-game losing streak.
In the hours before Sunday's game, Iwakuma didn't even think he'd be
able to make the start. A sore neck hampered him throughout his
pre-game stretch, so much so that a Seattle trainer had to be called
in to loosen it up.
"I needed to pitch today," Iwakuma said after earning the win. "I
felt responsible, especially after (Seattle) losing five in a row,
so I needed to go out there."
Texas (34-35) got its lone run on a solo homer by Brad Snyder in the
second inning, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead. It was Snyder's first
career homer.
"I'm not going to lie: I've been working for that first big-league
homer for a long time," said Snyder, the father of a young son whose
own dad was watching the game on television back in Ohio. "It is a
big sigh of relief to get that first one out of the way. Especially
on Father's Day, it's something I'll never forget."
Seager, who already had a pair of singles, hit a two-out, two-run
double in the fifth to put the Mariners ahead 2-1. He added another
RBI double in the eighth for a 3-1 lead before scoring on Ackley's
RBI single. Seattle scored its final run on shortstop Brad Miller's
sacrifice fly in the eighth.
"We certainly weren't trying to give him anything on the inside of
the plate," Texas manager Ron Washington said, "and when we did, he
hit it."
Seattle did most of its damage against Texas reliever Robbie Ross
Jr., who gave up three runs off four hits before rookie Ben Rowen
came on for him in the eighth. Rowen, making his major league debut,
got three outs in the eighth to end Seattle's three-run inning.
Texas starter Nick Martinez (1-4) went six innings, allowing two
earned runs off nine hits.
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Seattle first baseman Logan Morrison did not finish the game after
suffering a laceration to his forehead in the fifth inning. Morrison
slammed his bat into a dugout wall in disgust after a popout with
two runners on base and took a shard of the broken bat off his left
eyebrow. He underwent five stitches after the game.
"I obviously acted like a 3-year-old," Morrison said after the game.
"I apologized to my teammates and to (manager Lloyd McClendon). ...
I'm embarrassed. No matter how bad I'm playing, I can't do that. You
move on, and hopefully I can come back soon and start helping this
team win games."
NOTES: Mariners C John Buck made his first career appearance at
first base in Sunday's sixth inning, when he replaced 1B Logan
Morrison after an incident in the dugout. Morrison cut a gash over
his left eye when the bat he slammed against a dugout wall cracked
and bounced off his eyebrow. Buck played flawless defense for three
innings before being lifted for a pinch runner in the bottom of the
eighth. ... Texas CF Leonys Martin was back in the leadoff spot
Sunday, marking the second game in a row and the third time this
season that he has batted first. ... Mariners manager Lloyd
McClendon said before Sunday's game that OF Michael Saunders
(shoulder), 1B Justin Smoak (quad) and DH Corey Hart (hamstring) are
getting closer to rehab assignments. All three players are currently
on the 15-day disabled list, with Hart eligible to come off whenever
he's healthy. ... Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre was initially slated to
serve as designated hitter Sunday, but about 30 minutes before the
game he changed positions with Donnie Murphy. ... McClendon said the
team still has no timetable for calling up RHP Taijuan Walker, who
threw six innings of no-hit ball before giving up his only hit
allowed in a 6 2/3-inning performance at Triple-A on Friday night.
Walker struggled with shoulder problems throughout the spring and
early part of the season but appears to be getting closer to a clean
bill of health.
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