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Masterful Millwood silences Rangers

May 24, 2012 - 12:30 AM Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - After posting his first shutout in nearly nine years in his previous outing, 37-year-old Kevin Millwood followed that masterful two-hit performance by tossing six shutout innings, lifting the Seattle Mariners to a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers in the rubber match of a three-game set.

Millwood (3-4) surrendered three hits and a walk while fanning two. He has not allowed a run in his last 17 2/3 frames and has won his past three starts after dropping his prior four decisions.

"Confidence has been building for the last couple weeks," Millwood said. "So I felt like when I got out there, I felt like i was going to have a good game and throw the ball well. Confidence goes a long way in this game and that's what I'm working on right now."

Alex Liddi smacked his first career grand slam for the Mariners, who have won five of their last six on the heels of a four-game losing streak.

Scott Feldman (0-2) was charged with five runs on three hits and five walks in 4 1/3 innings for Texas, which has alternated losses and wins over its past nine contests.

"He pitched around the three walks in the second inning and got out with minimal damage. He made one bad pitch and it cost him," Rangers manager Ron Washinton said of Feldman's outing.

Josh Hamilton had an RBI double and Adrian Beltre clubbed a two-run homer as part of a three-run eighth inning which cut the deficit to 5-3, but Brandon League struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save of the year.

Feldman walked the bases loaded to begin the second inning and Michael Saunders lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.

With runners on second and third with one away in the fifth, Dustin Ackley was intentionally walked to load the bags for Liddi, who laced a fastball that just snuck over the wall in left to clear the bases, giving Seattle a 5-0 lead.

Kinsler led off the eighth inning against Tom Wilhelmsen with a single, stole second and scored two batters later when Hamilton pulled a double down the first-base line. Beltre came up next and launched a towering two-run shot to left-center, which made it a 5-3 game.

Game Notes

Millwood had a 5.88 earned run average on May 8, which has now been lowered to 3.72...Texas was 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base while Seattle was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded four.