ARLINGTON, Texas -- Not once in the Seattle Mariners' three-game sweep of the Rangers did Texas ever lead.
The Rangers managed to score in only three of the 27 innings. The series began on Monday with the two teams tied for the basement in the AL West. Now, the dubious position belongs solely to Texas (7-14).
In the Rangers' 5-2 loss on Wednesday, there were a few positive signs. Some balls were hit hard, even if they turned into outs. But the bottom line, Texas still managed only five hits.
"I felt like against Felix [Hernandez], we hit some balls hard," said manager Jeff Banister. "I felt we had opportunities to put runs on the board."
The manager said consistency is what is needed -- bringing at least five guys to the plate in an inning and putting runs together.
The Rangers did put up multiple runs in an inning for the first time since Sunday when they clipped Hernandez for two runs in the second inning to tie the score.
But there was no hint of a rally late. Hernandez and relievers Danny Farquhar and Fernando Rodney put down the final 13 in order.
Banister made it clear in his postgame conference that his philosophy is not to simply take pitches.
"We go up looking to drive the baseball. Get a good pitch and hit it."
Pitching on the edge: Rangers starter Wandy Rodriguez depends on working the corners of the plate and that led to a high pitch count. The 36-year-old lefty exited with one out in the fifth and men on base and Texas down 4-2.
"A lot of pitches were very close," said Rodriquez. "The calls weren't going my way." He walked three and two turned into runs.
"I felt he managed the game the best he could," said Banister. "He knows where he's at with his pitches. He gave up the home run to [Nelson] Cruz and other than that he pitched OK."
Rodriguez said Cruz' homer, which traveled an estimated 430 feet, came on a sinker that he was trying to move to the outside of the plate. Instead, it found the middle.
Long man: The Rangers stayed within striking distance thanks to three shutout innings from long reliever Stolmy Pimentel.
"I know I can be a long reliever, but long or short, I try to do my best. When I go out, I don't know how long it will be. I'm feeling really good right now."
Challenging situation: Banister lost a challenge in the fifth inning. Rougned Odor was called out at first when first baseman Logan Morrison was close to bringing his foot off the base to track an offline throw. After looking at replay, the call was upheld.
"It was close," Banister said. "We saw it and thought it was worth a challenge. It didn't go our way."
Had Texas won the challenge, it would have had runners at first and third with Prince Fielder at the plate trailing 4-2.
Leaky defense: The Rangers were charged with four errors on Wednesday, two of the miscues coming in the top of the ninth when Seattle scored an unearned insurance run.
"That's not the way they want to handle the baseball," Banister said. "It's not the way we want to play defense."
On the ground ball that got by first baseman Kyle Banks for a two-run go-ahead double in the fifth, Banister said "that's a play that needs to be made."
After an off-day Thursday, the Rangers open a three-game weekend set against Oakland at 7:05 Friday.
