Rangers Spank Seattle

Texas starter Rick Helling wasn't sure of where his pitches were going. It didn't matter because Seattle had a hard time hitting them.

Helling pitched six shutout innings, four of them after being hit on his throwing hand by a comebacker, as the Rangers beat Seattle 10-1 Monday night.

"By far I didn't have really anything out there after getting hit. I just ended up getting by," Helling said. "I changed my total style of pitching and my approach to the game tonight, kind of make things up as you go out there."

After throwing out Tom Lampkin on the comebacker that ended the second, Helling showed no obvious ill effects until he began warming up prior to the seventh. He had retired the Mariners 1-2-3 in the third and fourth innings.

But while Helling was still shutting Seattle down, he was getting treatment every time he went to the dugout.

Helling (4-1) allowed just three singles before he left with a 6-0 lead. He came out to warm up to start the seventh, but the pain and swelling in his hand became too much to bear.

"I don't think he threw the ball that well. He spotted the ball well," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said. "His hand had to have been bothering him. Give him high marks for staying in there and getting the win."

For Helling, it was his another solid start. In his previous start last Tuesday, Helling allowed just one hit in 7 1-3 innings against Tampa Bay, an 8-1 victory. He has worked at least six innings in six straight starts after going just 3 1-3 innings on April 4.

"I don't ever want to come out of the game, and I wasn't about to let it happen there unless I just abolutely could not throw the ball," said Helling, showing the swollen hand which still imprinted with the seams of the ball.

Chad Curtis drove in three runs for the Rangers, who had extra-base hits to start five of the six innings in which they scored.

Royce Clayton led off the Texas first with a triple and the Rangers went ahead for good with three runs, highlighted by Curtis' two-run single. Clayton also had a leadoff homer in the eighth.

Jason McDonald had a leadoff homer in the second, and Mike Lamb scored after hitting doubles to start the fourth and sixth innings.

After Clayton's leadoff triple in the first, Luis Alicea had an RBI single on the next pitch by Brett Tomko (1-2). After consecutive walks loaded the bases, Curtis singled with two outs.

"The fact they are hot and that I didn't pitch to the degree I should really didn't help," Tomko said.

McDonald, in the Rangers lineup because outfielders Rusty Greer and Gabe Kapler are on the disabled list, hit a 422-foot homer into the upper deck to start the second inning. After his third homer in as many games, he added an RBI single in the fourth that scored Lamb.

Lamb led off the sixth with another double and later scored on Alicea's sacrifice fly.

The Mariners scored off Jeff Zimmerman, who struck out the first two batters he faced after relieving Helling. Lampkin then doubled and scored on Lamb's error at third base.

Lamb got the run back with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh after Curtis had a sacrifice fly.

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