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M's offense fails to show, again

Tim Booth | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 13 years, 4 months AGO
by Tim Booth
| July 16, 2011 9:00 PM

SEATTLE - When Doug Fister is on the mound, it's almost expected the Seattle Mariners offense won't provide any help.

After all, the only .300 hitter on the Mariners entire roster right now is Fister.

Colby Lewis fell one out short of a complete game, and the Texas Rangers extended Seattle's scoreless streak to 26 innings with a 4-0 win on Friday night.

Seattle matched its season high with its seventh straight loss and hasn't scored since the first inning last Sunday against the Angels in its final game before the All-Star break. They've now scored four or fewer runs in 11 straight games and were shutout for the fourth time in July alone.

Manager Eric Wedge noted before Friday's loss how there were a lot of positives going on with his club but that "hitting isn't one of them." Then the Mariners went out and proved their manager's point.

"The offense is not holding up their end of the bargain. We are way too deep in the season to continue to have games like this," Wedge said after the Mariners fell 9 ? games back in the AL West. "It starts with me but they have to go out there and get it done."

Seattle managed just two hits off Lewis until the ninth inning - a single by Brendan Ryan in the third and Franklin Gutierrez's ground-rule double leading off the fifth inning. But much like most of this season, Gutierrez was left standing at second base as Seattle failed to come through with any situational hitting. Kyle Seager and Carlos Peguero both struck out - Seager on a 10-pitch at-bat - and Ichiro Suzuki grounded out weakly to shortstop to end the threat.

Dustin Ackley and Adam Kennedy both singled in the ninth to end Lewis' night, but Neftali Feliz got the final out for his 19th save.

While Seattle couldn't get any clutch hitting, the Rangers were doing the little things to piece together their runs off Fister. Texas got a trio of sacrifice flies from Josh Hamilton, Endy Chavez and Adrian Beltre, and an RBI single from Michael Young in the eighth to hand Fister his sixth straight loss.

Sandwiched around those runs allowed, Fister was dominant, retiring 15 straight during one stretch. Still, Fister has given up four earned runs or less in each of his 12 starts since May 7, only to see the Mariners bats fail to give him a chance to win. He entered Friday night getting just 2.15 runs of support per start, the lowest number in the American League.

"It's frustrating to lose games in the division. You can't get them back. It's frustrating for everyone," Seattle designated hitter Jack Cust said. "The pitchers are throwing well and keeping us in games and we haven't been doing our part. We've got to pick that up."

Lewis followed up Derek Holland's stellar performance a night earlier when Holland took a perfect game into the sixth inning before settling for a shutout. Lewis wasn't quite as good, but was equally effective at keeping Seattle's hapless offense off the scoreboard.

Only three times did Seattle advance a runner to second base against the Rangers' righty. Lewis (9-7) lived on the outside half of the plate and induced weak grounders and pop ups all night. Lewis won his fourth straight decision and has dropped his ERA from 4.97 on June 11 down to 4.06.

"You've got to give Fister credit. He pitched a really good game and we still got him," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "And we got him by executing and Colby kept us in the ball game. ... Fister did a great job but Colby did a better job."

Lewis struck out eight and walked only two in 8 2-3 innings. The Rangers pitching staff ran its consecutive scoreless innings streak to 29, not allowing a run since Coco Crisp homered in the seventh inning against the Rangers last Saturday. Texas now has 12 shutouts this season, second-best in baseball and the top mark in the American League.

NOTES: Seattle announced before Friday's game that RHP David Aardsma will need Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. An MRI on Aardsma done Thursday determined the need for surgery. He did not pitch for the Mariners this season. ... Rangers INF Andres Blanco, on the DL since July 8 with a strained lower back, will start swinging a bat on Saturday and if there are no setbacks could head out on a rehab assignment sometime next week. ... Friday was the 12th anniversary of the opening of Safeco Field.

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