Rangers hope Feldman can snap winless skid in matchup with M's

Scott Feldman takes aim at his first win in seven starts on Saturday when the Texas Rangers continue a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Feldman saw his string of five straight losses stopped his last time out on Sept. 6 against Kansas City, but he still did not receive a decision in his team's 5-4 win. Feldman gave up three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 of that one and struck out six without walking a batter.

"Feldman pitched extremely well," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "He gave us a chance."

Still, Feldman hasn't won since beating the Royals back on Aug. 4 to cap a string of six consecutive winning decisions.

Feldman lost to Seattle the last time he faced it and is 5-5 with a 3.67 ERA in 24 games (11 starts).

Seattle, meanwhile, will counter with lefty Jason Vargas, who has lost two of his last three starts. Vargas was beaten by Oakland on Sunday, as he allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings to drop him to 14-10 to go along with a 3.85 ERA.

"I was down with my fastball, for the most part, except for that second inning, I was able to kind of throw it where I wanted to," Vargas said. "I was able to work a little bit more efficient, if you can do that."

Vargas is 1-1 in two starts this season against the Rangers and is 4-5 lifetime against them with a 4.56 ERA in 13 games (11 starts).

In Friday's opener, Yu Darvish tossed seven strong innings and Elvis Andrus had three RBI to help Texas to a 9-3 win. Josh Hamilton homered and knocked in two runs, while Ian Kinsler also hit a home run for the AL West-leading Rangers, who have won three of their last four.

Darvish (15-9) allowed one run on two hits and two walks. He also struck out nine to give him 205 strikeouts for the season, making him 16th rookie since 1900 to record 200 strikeouts.

"He throws so many different pitches for strikes, when he throws strikes, that you don't know what to expect," Hamilton said about Darvish. "It's fun to watch."

Hisashi Iwakuma (6-5) surrendered two runs on seven hits and a walk through 5 1/3 innings for Seattle, which has dropped two straight and six of its last nine.

"We don't quit and we are not going to hang our heads," Mariners outfielder Michael Saunders said. "Over the course of a year, things like this are going to happen."

Texas has won eight of its 14 matchups with the Mariners this season.