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SEATTLE — Tommy Hunter would have liked to see his rookie season end on a stronger note.
At least now he knows what he has to work on next season.The Texas right-hander lost his second consecutive start Saturday night, as the Mariners edged the Rangers 2-1 at Safeco Field.Hunter (9-6) was bidding to become just the ninth rookie in club history to win 10 games. Instead, he didn’t make it out of the fifth as the Mariners scored their only two runs off him and made them stand up as the Rangers were dogged by bad breaks late in the game."[The season] should have ended a little better," said Hunter, who posted a 4.10 ERA in his 19 starts. "There were some things they caught onto at the end of the year. I need to fix it for next year. I was tipping some pitches."Despite his failure to win 10 games, Hunter showed why he’s a viable option for the starting rotation next year.On Saturday night, he wasn’t at his best; he was dealing with cold weather and wasn’t feeling well. He allowed nine hits, but only two runs.His ability to keep the Rangers in games is a trait that he has shown since he became a regular in the rotation at the end of July."He showed he can battle," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "I saw him get into trouble and get out of trouble. He’s growing. He’s just got to continue on that path. He’s certainly got the pitches to stand out there and do a good job. He’s got to make sure he doesn’t take it for granted and continues to grow."The Mariners were able to make the two runs they scored off Hunter stand up as the Rangers hit into hard luck.Texas stranded a pair of runners in the fifth, saw the sixth end on an outstanding double-play grounder and left the bases loaded in the seventh after scoring their only run of the game. Throw in a line drive double play to end the eighth, and it was that kind of night for the offense."It was just one of those games," said Chris Davis, who was robbed by Seattle first baseman Mike Carp to start the eighth-inning double play. "We hit the ball well. We put ourselves in situations to score runs. We just didn’t get the hits when we needed them."The seventh inning was their best opportunity. Elvis Andrus hit a ground-rule double to right to cut the lead to 2-1 and put runners on second and third with no outs. But Taylor Teagarden struck out and Julio Borbon flew out to shallow center for the first two outs. After Shawn Kelley walked Ian Kinsler to load the bases, Michael Young hit a deep ball to right-center that Franklin Gutierrez chased down just shy of the wall."It was one of those games tonight where there wasn’t a whole lot of runs being scored and it was who got the breaks," Washington said. "We had our chances."The loss marked the 10th time since Sept. 6 that the Rangers have been held to either zero or one run. It also ended the chances of the Rangers finishing with a .500 record on the road for just the seventh time in club history.Anthony Andro, 817-390-7760
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