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McCarthy picks up first win as Rangers top Mariners

Sep 3, 2008 - 4:15 AM ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- After six months, seven minor-league rehab starts and a pair of no decisions, Brandon McCarthy finally found the win column.

McCarthy pitched six solid innings to notch his first win of the season as the Texas Rangers defeated the Seattle Mariners, 6-4, on Tuesday.

"It feels good for us to get a win," McCarthy said. "Pitchers' wins and losses mean nothing to me as long as the team's winning."

The 6-7 righthander ran into arm trouble in spring training, suffering from severe inflammation in his right forearm in early March. He began a rehab assignment after the All-Star break, posting a 1.24 ERA over 31 2/3 innings.

After allowing one earned run in each of his first two starts, McCarthy (1-0) continued his comeback against the Mariners, allowing two runs and four hits in six innings. He also struck out four and did not issue a walk.

"I felt good. I felt like I did a better job throwing strikes early and keeping the game under my control," McCarthy said. "Progress has been made. I'm definitely throwing more strikes. I didn't walk anybody tonight."

A first-inning sacrifice fly by Raul Ibanez gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead, but the Rangers responded with runs in three consecutive innings to stake the 25-year-old to a lead he would not relinquish.

Joaquin Arias singled and Michael Young doubled to lead off the first inning against Seattle starter Ryan Feierabend (0-2), and Josh Hamilton followed with his first of three singles on the night to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

"He (Hamilton) is an RBI machine who continues to do what he's done all year no matter what you throw at him," Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said. "But our guys came back and battled and gave us the opportunity to make something happen there in the ninth.''

Texas added another run in the second when Nelson Cruz, who hit a one-out triple, came around to score on a single by Gerald Laird.

McCarthy took over from there, retiring 13-straight batters after a one-out single in the second inning. Yuniesky Betancourt broke the stretch with a solo home run, his sixth of the season with two out in the fifth.

"I like the way he's spotting his fastball, the feel that he's getting his changeup and breaking ball to where he can throw them when he's behind in the count, which he has to do," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

Hank Blalock had a pair of run-scoring hits, an RBI double in the third and a run-scoring single in the sixth. Hamilton added his third RBI, a run-scoring single, in the seventh to extend the lead to 6-2.

Seattle recorded a pair of runs in the eight on an RBI single by Ibanez and a run-scoring double by Jose Lopez, but Frank Francisco pitched a scoreless ninth, notching his third consecutive save chance to preserve the win.

Feierabend surrendered five runs and 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings for Seattle.

"Ryan threw the ball pretty good. It's a tough lineup and he battled and did a good job," Riggleman said. "He made a lot of good pitches and kept us in the game. He probably doesn't feel it was his best game but he gave his team a chance to win.''