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 The lefty Holland and three relievers shut out the Mariners as
Texas snapped an eight-game losing streak.
Holland, out most of the season recovering from knee surgery, gave
up six hits and struck out five over seven innings. He walked none.
Right-hander Shawn Tolleson pitched a scoreless eighth and
right-hander Neftali Feliz worked around a one-out jam to earn his
eighth save.
"It means a lot, especially to get Bogie's first win," Holland said.
"I can't say this enough, this was a team win.
"Each guy was out there giving everything we had and make sure we
could get the series win against Seattle and get the first win for
Bogie."
The victory clinched the season series for Texas.
Third baseman Adrian Beltre accounted for the game's only run on a
sacrifice fly that scored center fielder Leonys Martin in the sixth
inning for Texas (54-89).
Martin was 3-for-4 with a triple.
Seattle's lead for the American League's second wild-card berth fell
to one game over Detroit, which plays Sunday night at home against
San Francisco.
Right-handed pitcher James Paxton (5-2), a winner in eight of his
first 12 starts, took the loss for Seattle (78-64), which took two
of three from Texas while closing out an eight-game road stand.
Paxton, who, too, spent much of the season on the disabled list with
a muscle strain in his back, gave up one run on five hits and two
walks over six innings. He struck out two. He's 2-1 with a 1.31 ERA
in his last three starts. He also extended a streak of not allowing
an extra-base hit to 83 hitters faced.
Martin led off the sixth with a base hit, stole second and advanced
to third with one out on left fielder Daniel Robertson's groundout.
Beltre's sacrifice fly to center turned out to be the game winner.
"You want to attack these guys," said Paxton, who logged his third
consecutive quality start. "You can't give them free bases. I left
that cutter up to Martin and he got a hit.
"Beltre hit a good pitch up and in. I was trying to go inside on
him. He just muscled that ball into the outfield."
Second baseman Robinson Cano and center fielder Austin Jackson both
went 2-for-4 for the Mariners, who were limited to eight hits and
left seven on base.
Cano grounded out to start the ninth before allowing runners to
advance to first and third by surrendering a walk and base hit to
first baseman Kendrys Morales and third baseman Kyle Seager.
Designated hitter James Jones popped out to shortstop and
pinch-hitter Justin Smoak flied out to left field to end the game.
Holland, who earned his first victory since Sept. 23, 2013, has
compiled a 0.64 ERA with 11 strikeouts and no walks in his first two
starts.
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His first two starts this season mark the only time in his career he's
allowed one run or less and no walks in consecutive starts.
His season has been a shambles since offseason knee surgery and a
longer-than-expected rehabilitation process. There was speculation that
the left-hander would just sit out the entire season for Texas, which
has been mired in the bottom half of the AL West since May.
But Holland insisted that he come back, no matter the team's
circumstances.
"That just tells you what kind of guy he is," said Bogar, managing his
third game since the resignation of manager Ron Washington on Friday.
"The intensity is what I like about him. Derek gives us what we need."
Both teams committed costly base running blunders.
The Rangers' Ryan Rua was caught in a rundown trying to advance to
second on a ball hit to shortstop by second baseman Rougned Odor, who
was then thrown out trying to advance to second.
In the fourth, Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano was thrown out
trying to stretch a single to left into a double.
Between the Rangers' third and Seattle's fourth, the scorebook showed
three hits and six straight outs, including Texas' Martin, who reached
on a single but was thrown out trying to steal.
"I wanted to come back out and prove I can bounce back and make sure all
the hard work I've been doing is going to pay off," Holland said. "I
have to give a lot of credit to the staff for getting me back the way I
am. "
NOTES: Seattle OF Dustin Ackley missed a second straight game dealing
with a sore ankle, though he is hopeful he'll be back in the lineup on
Monday. ... OF Michael Saunders is expected to rejoin the team on Monday
after a stint on the DL dealing with an infection. ... The Rangers moved
RHP Yu Darvish to the 60-day DL and called up INF Guilder Rodriguez from
Double-A Frisco. Rodriguez, 31, has played the most minor league games
(1,095) among all current players who have no major league experience, a
span of 14 years. ... Seattle leads the majors in batting average with
runners in scoring position since Aug. 6.
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