Sat, Sep 20, 2003 page20

• Rangers win leaves Mariners all at sea

  MLB ACTION It was Seattle's fourth loss in a row and it put them even further behind Boston in the AL wild-card race as the regular season nears completion

  • AP
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  Laynce Nix blooped an RBI single in the 10th inning and the Texas Rangers beat Seattle 2-1 Thursday, the Mariners' fourth loss in five games.

  "We needed to come in and have a good series and we didn't," Seattle's Bret Boone said. "We've been saying that for the last two weeks, that we need to play well. And we haven't played well consistently. ... I'm out of good answers."

  

  Seattle Mariners pitcher Julio Mateo, right, stands on the mound as Texas Rangers' Shane Spencer rounds the bases after his solo home run in the sixth inning in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday. The Rangers beat Seattle 2-1.

  PHOTO: AP

  Seattle began the night 1 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL wild-card race.

  "We were behind the 8-ball as it was, now we're a little further behind," said Mariners manager Bob Melvin. "We have to go in there and win. Tomorrow is the one we have to focus on now."

  Alex Rodriguez led off the 10th with a double off Shigetoshi Hasegawa (2-3), who then intentionally walked Rafael Palmeiro before walking Mark Teixeira to load the bases. Nix then blooped a hit into left field.

  Yankees 1, Orioles 1, tie

  In Baltimore, a steady rain and the imminent arrival of winds up to 55kph caused the game between New York and Baltimore to be stopped with the score 1-1 after five innings. Umpires called it after a 44-minute wait.

  The individual statistics will count, and the game will be made up as part of a doubleheader in New York on Sept. 26 or 27.

  New York, closing in on its sixth straight AL East title, started the day 5 1/2 games ahead of Boston in the AL East.

  Jason Giambi hit an RBI double in the third, but Luis Matos had a run-scoring single in the bottom half off Mike Mussina, who was trying for his 200th win.

  Blue Jays 10, Tigers 6

  In Detroit, Mike Maroth became the first pitcher in 29 years to lose 21 games as Detroit lost its 114th game, the fifth-highest total in major league history, falling to Toronto.

  Detroit (38-114), which has lost six straight, was swept in a series for the 20th time this season. The Tigers must at least split their remaining 10 games to avoid tying the post-1900 record of 120, set by the 1962 Mets.

  Maroth (7-21) allowed seven runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. He is the first 21-game loser since 1974, when Mickey Lolich lost 21, and Bill Bonham, Randy Jones and Steve Rogers lost 22.

  Josh Towers (7-1) allowed four runs and five hits in six innings, struck out six and walked one. Dan Reichert and Cliff Politte finished the six-hitter.

  In other AL games: Red Sox 4, Devil Rays 3; Royals 3, Indians 2;Twins 5, White Sox 3

  Rockies 0, Astros 6

  The Houston Astros ended one of baseball's record runs.

  Wade Miller and the Astros handed Colorado its first shutout at Coors Field since 1999, increasing their NL Central lead Thursday with a 6-0 victory.

  The Rockies had scored in 361 consecutive home games since San Diego's Andy Ashby pitched a six-hitter on July 4, 1999. The previous record was 258 games by the Boston Braves from 1892 to 1896.

  "I wasn't aware of the streak," Miller said. "They told me afterward. Sure, it's nice. But the thing is, we needed a win here to go back up by a game over Chicago. We have only 10 games left now, so every one is important."

  Miller, Octavio Dotel and Mike Gallo combined on a three-hitter. Jeff Bagwell homered and drove in three runs as the Astros won for the 11th time in 14 tries and moved a game ahead of the idle Chicago Cubs.

  Miller (14-12) walked five and struck out seven in 6 1-3 innings, improving to 7-2 in his last nine starts.

  Phillies 5, Marlins 4

  In Philadelphia, Jim Thome hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning as Philadelphia rallied against Dontrelle Willis and beat Florida in a must-win game.

  The Phillies pulled within a half-game of the Marlins for the NL wild-card lead, taking two of three in the series. The teams meet three more times next week at Florida.

  Philadelphia's victory also clinched the NL East for Atlanta, the Braves' 12th straight division title.

  In other NL games: Padres 7, Giants 3; Pirates 7, Reds 0; Cardinals 13, Brewers 0; Expos 1, Mets 0; Dodgers 2, Diamondbacks 0
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