Then the Mariners went out and lost another ballgame – their seventh in their past eight outings. Once again, the problem was a lack of offense as Texas won, 2-0, before a crowd of 17,173 at Safeco Field.

And McLaren wasn’t around for much of it. He was tossed in the second inning after what he described as a misunderstanding with home plate umpire Mark Wegner.

McLaren didn’t miss much in the way of offense, as the Rangers’ two runs topped the Mariners’ season-low two hits.

Milton Bradley scored both runs, racing home on a Brandon Boggs triple in the fourth and launching a 381-foot home run to left in the sixth.

Both came against Seattle starter Erik Bedard. And it was too much for a Seattle offense that was limited to a pair of singles by Texas starter Vincente Padilla, who went seven innings in picking up his fifth win.

“I pitched good, but it doesn’t really matter,” Bedard said. “We need a win, and that’s all that counts.”

The Mariners played shorthanded as Richie Sexson left before the game to tend to a family matter. He is expected to be available tonight.

McLaren also disclosed that Jose Vidro has been unavailable for the past two nights due to back spasms.

Texas also played with a short bench as shortstop Michael Young suffered a hip flexor injury in the first inning and was replaced by Ramon Vazquez.

The loss dropped Seattle (14-21) into last place in the American League West, one game behind the Rangers.

“We didn’t have much run support, but (Bedard) threw the ball well,” McLaren said. “… It’s a grind right here. We’re not swinging the bats very well, and when we do it’s right at somebody. We’ve been challenged here. I really don’t have much to tell you that I haven’t told you before: We’re just going through a real tough stretch right now.”

A couple of hours before the game, Armstrong offered a vote of confidence in McLaren and his coaches.

“He’s doing a fine job,” Armstrong said. “I like our staff. I like the manager. … I think Mac is doing a fine job. He’s got a good staff, and they give him good support. He has a log of conversation, and he’s providing good leadership to the guys.”

However, Armstrong admitted disappointment in the Mariners’ start.

“There have been some good moments, and we’ve seen some good play,” he said. “But to be where we are right now with the schedule we started with, I’m disappointed. I think we’re all disappointed. We have a good team, and we should be playing better than we are. Sometimes these things happen. … I expect at the end that we’ll (have a much better record) and we’ll end up in first place in the American League West. But so far it has not gone as we had hoped.”

Just minutes before that, McLaren voiced similar faith in his team.

But he acknowledged some concern about the amount the daylight that Los Angeles and Oakland already have put between their teams and his.

“There have been quite a few losses here lately,” McLaren said. “Again, I’m repeating myself, but we’re looking for consistency. It’s everything, offense, pitching, defense. It’s got to be more than win one game, but in order to win three or four you’ve got to win the one, get on some kind of roll. … I know that we’re capable of winning eight out of 10 games and getting back. Realistically, I think what our thoughts have to be is playing consistent baseball, getting back to .500 and going from there. This is how I’m thinking of it. We keep thinking every time that we win one game that we can roll off four or five. We just haven’t been able to do it yet.”

Don Ruiz: 253-597-8808

blogs.thenewstribune.com/mariners