Then the 11th inning happened.
Rookie left-hander Rob Rasmussen struggled to keep pitches down in the zone, allowing six straight hits, and Joe Beimel allowed a two-run home run to Prince Fielder as the Rangers' offense exploded for eight runs in the inning.
"I just didn't execute," Rasmussen said. "Our bullpen did a great job and picked up six innings before I came in there. I needed to pick us up and I just flat-out didn't execute, especially on that breaking ball. I left a lot of them up."
Rasmussen shouldered the blame after the game, but McClendon redirected it toward the Mariners' offense, which failed to produce a run in the 10th after Seth Smith reached second on an error with no outs.