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Hamilton helps Rangers hold off Mariners

Apr 2, 2008 - 6:58 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Josh Hamilton got it done in the field and then took care of business at the plate, clubbing a two-run home run in the top of the ninth to lead the Texas Rangers to a 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

David Murphy and Milton Bradley each drove in a run for the Rangers, who fought back after surrendering a 3-1 lead in the previous frame.

"That's why we play nine innings," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We battled through some mistakes and got the win. It was a great win for us tonight."

Hamilton, who was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in the offseason, made a pair of tough catches in the outfield and scored a run in the eighth before taking the first pitch he saw from All-Star closer J.J. Putz (0-1) deep over the right-field wall to provide the winning margin in the ninth.

"It was the first pitch," Hamilton said. "They had been pounding me inside and then going breaking balls away, trying to make me chase that sort of stuff. I cleared all that out of my head. I just said to do what (hitting coach) Rudy (Jaramillo) said to do, get my foot down. It seemed like everything slowed down. Even the ball was slower."

"He did what he is capable of doing," Washington said of Hamilton. "He needs to relax and not put so much pressure on himself. He's got great range and can track down a lot of tough balls. I like him a lot."

Ian Kinsler led off the ninth by fouling off four pitches before singling to center on the ninth pitch of his at-bat. After Putz struck out Michael Young looking for the first out, Hamilton wasted no time turning the tide in Texas' favor.

For the second night in a row, the Mariners took a late lead thanks to a rally that began with Young's error.

"We just made some mistakes on defense," said Young, who added that he was suffering from a 104-degree fever before the game. "We'll clean it up. I would say it was a rewarding one to win, considering the amount of mistakes we made."

In Monday's opener, the Rangers held a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the sixth when Young failed to field Ichiro Suzuki's ground ball cleanly leading off the frame. The Mariners proceeded to rally for two runs en route to the 5-2 victory.

On Tuesday, Texas had more of a cushion with a 3-1 lead in the eighth when Young fielded a ground ball off the bat of Jose Vidro and threw it into the dirt.

The miscue opened the floodgates for the Mariners, who cut it to 3-2 on Yuniesky Betancourt's RBI double and tied it up when Kinsler made his second error of the game on Ichiro's hard grounder.

After Richie Sexson struck out with the bases loaded, Betancourt came in to score on Joaquin Benoit's wild pitch to put Seattle on top, 4-3.

The Rangers had pulled ahead with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth on Milton Bradley's sacrifice fly and David Murphy's double to right field.

Benoit (1-0) was credited with the win while C.J. Wilson picked up his first save of the season.

The late-game heroics obscured a fantastic 2008 debut from Mariners starter Felix Hernandez, who allowed an unearned run and five hits in seven innings while walking three and striking out three.

"It was a tough loss," Mariners manager John McLaren said. "Felix really showed a lot of grit out there. He battled his way out of some tough jams. I didn't think Eric (O'Flaherty) and J.J. had their better stuff tonight. The guys battled back but we just couldn't hang on there at the end."