Pudge Drives In Texas Record

Ivan Rodriguez felt like pinching himself after his first three at-bats.

The All-Star catcher drove in nine runs to set a Texas record, hitting a grand slam and a three-run homer to highlight the Rangers' 15-6 romp over Seattle on Tuesday night.

"It's not easy to get this many RBIs in one game. Sometimes you can't get this many RBIs in a week," he said. "So this is very nice and very enjoyable. It was a great night."

Rodriguez's RBIs all came in the first three innings. He homered into the second deck in the first, had a two-run single in the second and hit his first career slam in the third as Texas took a 13-0 lead.

"It's nice to have the game over that quick," he said.

It was the most RBIs in the major leagues since Mike Greenwell, playing for Boston, had nine against Seattle in the Kingdome on Sept. 2, 1996.

Jim Bottomley of the St. Louis Cardinals set the major league record of 12 RBIs on Sept. 16, 1924. Mark Whiten of the Cardinals tied that mark when he hit four home runs on Sept. 7, 1993.

The AL record is 11 RBIs by Tony Lazzeri of the New York Yankees on May 24, 1936.

Rodriguez came up with two runners on base in the fifth inning, giving him a chance to tie the major league record, but flied out. He singled with none on in the seventh, and was taken out in the eighth.

Gregg Zaun, who replaced Rodriguez, batted with two on base in the ninth and walked.

Rodriguez agreed with the decision of manager Johnny Oates to take him out.

"It's a long season," he said. "I feel happy with the game I had. But I'm not looking for that. I'm just looking for wins for the team and that's what we did."

Oates said he decided to rest Rodriguez rather than let him bat one more time and go for the RBI record.

"The same reason I took Juan (Gonzalez) out, the same reason (Ken) Griffe came out, the same reason (Russ) Davis came out, the same reason (Jay) Buhner came out," he said. "That's what you're supposed to do."

Rodriguez broke the Texas record of eight RBIs set by Gonzalez on June 17, 1993, and tied by Jose Canseco on June 13, 1994.

Rodriguez's previous RBI high was five, which he accomplished twice. He began the night with one homer and two RBIs in his first six games.

In the first inning, Rodriguez capped a five-run burst with a 425-foot drive to left field off Ken Cloude (0-1). Rodriguez became the 12th player to hit a ball into the second deck at the Kingdome.

Mariners manager Lou Piniella said Rodriguez's big night was the result of poor pitching as well as good hitting.

"We are disappointed," he said. "We expected better."

Rodriguez's single in the second made it 7-0 and finished Cloude. In the third, he connected for a slam off Mac Suzuki to cap a six-run inning.

"I can't put a finger on it. I tried to muscle the ball too much," Cloude said.

Rusty Greer also had four of Texas' season-high 19 hits.

Mike Morgan (2-0), pitching for his record 11th major league team, won despite giving up homers to Jay Buhner, David Bell and David Segui.

After the game, Morgan was still shaking his head at Rodriguez's performance.

"Believe me, I've never seen anything like that in all my years in baseball," he said. "Actually, it was a tough night to pitch. I came up into the tunnel between innings to throw balls into the net trying to stay loose."

Morgan went 6 2-3 innings, giving up five runs and six hits.

Notes: Rodriguez had four hits for the 14th time in his career. He's hit three home runs in a game once and hit two homers in a game for the fourth time. ... The Rangers optioned outfielder Scarborough Green to Triple-A Oklahoma and purchased right-hander Jeff Zimmerman from their Pacific Coast League farm club. Green played in two games and batted once in two games for Texas this season. Zimmerman, 26, made his major league debut when he replaced Morgan in the seventh. ... Rafael Palmeiro of Texas left the game after singling in the first inning with tightness in his right hamstring. ... Morgan, who pitched for Seattle from 1985-87, improved to 3-1 against the Mariners, beating them for the first time since Aug. 4, 1979. ... Mariners starters have a 7.83 ERA in their first eight games.

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