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Ibanez, Mariners power past Rangers

Sep 11, 2008 - 1:47 AM By Paul Lowenberg PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Raul Ibanez had four hits and drove in three runs and the Seattle Mariners withstood a four-homer barrage to defeat the Texas Rangers, 8-7, on Wednesday.

Ibanez singled in the tie-breaking run in the sixth inning and Ichiro Suzuki also contributed four hits to a 15-hit Mariners attack.

"Your job is still to win games and ignore the circumstances," Ibanez said when asked what keeps him motivated this late in the season. "You're a professional. You're getting paid to do a job and the fans, the organization and the game of baseball deserves your best effort, so that's what you do."

Nelson Cruz, Taylor Teagarden, and Hank Blalock each hit two-run homers, and Chris Davis contributed a solo blast in the eighth that trimmed the Mariners lead to 8-7.

Kevin Millwood (9-9) had a second consecutive rocky outing for the Rangers, allowing seven runs - five earned - on 11 hits and two walks in five-plus innings.

"His command wasn't where he wanted, I know," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "But he competed and when he came out of the game, he was still in it."

The righthander had won three straight before getting pounded in his last start, an 8-1 loss to Boston last Friday.

Millwood left after surrendering consecutive singles to Ichiro and Yuniesky Betancourt in the sixth. Ibanez singled off reliever Kameron Loe to drive in the run that put Seattle ahead, 7-6.

Millwood's record against the Mariners this season fell to 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA.

Roy Corcoran (5-0), the fifth of seven Mariners pitchers, went 1 2/3 innings for the victory and J.J. Putz worked the ninth inning for his 13th save.

"It was a good win. There were a lot of good things, a lot of positives out of this game," said Putz, who picked up his 99th career save to put him in second place on the Mariners' all-time list.

A fielding error by Blalock at first base contributed to a two-run fifth as the Mariners went ahead 6-4. Ibanez, who had doubled and moved to third on a groundout, scored when Jeremy Reed's liner went under Blalock's glove. Reed scored one out later on an RBI single by rookie Matt Tuiasosopo, his first major league RBI.

The Rangers tied it again in the sixth as Blalock atoned for his miscue with a two-run homer into the right field seats on the first pitch from reliever Jake Woods.

The Mariners jumped to a 4-0 lead with runs in each of the first three frames. Ichiro led off the game with an infield single and eventually scored on Betancourt's groundout to make it 1-0.

Kenji Johjima's two-run double gave Seattle a 3-0 lead in the second and an RBI double by Ibanez in the third stretched it to 4-0.

The Rangers tied the game at 4-4 on two-run homers by Cruz and Teagarden in the fifth. The home run for Teagarden was his fourth in seven major league games.

Lefthander Cesar Jimenez got the start for the Mariners, the second of his major league career and first since September 25, 2006 against Oakland.

Jiminez, who had appeared in 26 games in relief this season, pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out four.

"He's started in the past and he certainly has the pitches to be a starter," Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said. "He really has a good arm. He's not an 86-mile-an-hour lefty soft tosser. He's got the pitches. He's just got to refine those pitches against lefthanders."