Mariners can't stop red-hot Nats

WASHINGTON -- The Mariners were swept in a three-game series for the second time this season, lost their third baseman for most of Sunday's game and probably a few more, and witnessed something not seen in more than a year -- right fielder Ichiro Suzuki having a batting average below .300.
Talk about rubbing salt into a wound, this part of the country was not kind to the Mariners this season.

A little more than three weeks after being swept in a three-game series against the Orioles in Baltimore, the Mariners absorbed another three-game dusting about 40 miles away as the upstart Nationals handed Seattle a 3-2 loss before 37,170 at RFK Stadium.

Third baseman Adrian Beltre felt something in his left hamstring running out a double in the third inning, remained in the game until the fourth, and then departed for who knows how long.

"It's similar to what he had in Kansas City, maybe a little more severe," manager Mike Hargrove said. "But we won't know for sure until [Monday or Tuesday]. I would be surprised if it's not going to be at least 2-3-4 days."

Beltre acknowledged that his hamstring hurt worse Sunday than it did on May 18 when he tweaked the hammy in a game against the Yankees. He missed only one game and has been in the lineup ever since.

Mariners head trainer Rick Griffin said Beltre would have treatment at Safeco Field on Monday and be examined by team doctors on Tuesday.

Something continues to ail Ichiro -- and it isn't his legs.

The Mariners had 10 hits on Sunday, but none of them were by Ichiro, who went 0-for-5 and fell below .300 (.295) for the first time since May 12, 2004. He also remained one hit shy of the 1,000 mark in his Major League career and has four games -- at the most -- remaining to become the third player in MLB history to have 1,000 hits in fewer than 700 games.

He went 5-for-28 on the road trip and is 7-for-37 (.189) in June.

"I thought he had better swings today than he's had in awhile, except for the ball he hit to left field," said Hargrove, referring to a first-pitch popup Ichiro hit with runners on first and second base and one out in the fourth inning. "He hit the ball hard a couple of times, including the rope to right field his last time up. Maybe he's starting to come around."

Ichiro met with the media after the game and said it was frustrating not performing the way the fans expect. Dropping below .300 for the first time in a long time, didn't seem to faze him as much.

But the fact is, he hasn't been below the Ichiro Line in ages.

"If I was satisfied with the way I have been hitting, I would have to quit baseball," he said.

Ichiro stranded six runners, three in scoring position, but he had plenty of company.

The Mariners were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and had one runner (Greg Dobbs) picked off second base in the sixth inning after driving in Seattle's first run with a pinch-hit double to right-center.

"We had a lot of chances to score, but burned a lot of runners on third base with less than two outs," Hargrove said. "You can't do that against any Major League club, much less against one as hot as these guys are right now."

The Mariners came to town Friday night ready to fight fire with fire.

The Nationals had won seven straight, but Seattle was on a roll of its own, winning eight of their previous 11 games.

"We were in all three games but couldn't take advantage of the breaks we got and they did," Hargrove said. "I looked up and [Nationals starter Tony Armas] had thrown 108 pitches and we didn't have a run on the board."

The first of Beltre's doubles put runners on second and third in the first inning, but Richie Sexson struck out and Raul Ibanez grounded out. Seattle had runners on first and third with two outs in the second and Ichiro grounded out. One-out doubles by Beltre in the third and Rene Rivera in the fourth were wasted.

Meanwhile, right-hander Ryan Franklin (2-8), pitching with a full beard for the first time, surrendered a two-run home run to Junior Spivey in the second inning and a two-out run on a bloop single in the fourth inning which produced enough runs to frustrate him again.

"The scouting report said pitch [Spivey] down and in, and I did," he said. "It was a good pitch, but he hit it out. That seems to happen to me quite a bit. I didn't throw the ball badly, I didn't think."

The Mariners didn't score a run until Franklin had departed and their last offensive hurrah came in the seventh when Jeremy Reed singled and scored on Ibanez's two-out double to left field. Ibanez took third on the throw to the plate, but stayed there as shortstop Mike Morse struck out.

"Ryan has thrown the ball much better than 2-8," Hargrove said. "We haven't scored any runs for him, obviously, but he's a tough guy and gives us a chance to win when he pitches. That's all we can ask."

Outfielder Randy Winn, who got the day off so Jeremy Reed could start his first game in a week, extended his hitting streak to eight games with a pinch-hit single with two outs in the eighth inning. But he was stranded as Ichiro lined out to right field.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/