Mariners @ Angels : 2 - 3

The Seattle Mariners have tried just about everything to end their losing skid. They even started Ichiro Suzuki in center field on Sunday.

Nothing has worked.

Chone Figgins singled home the winning run in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Angels beat Seattle 3-2 Sunday to send the Mariners to their 11th straight loss.

Seattle Mariners catcher Rene Rivera, left, waits for the throw as Los Angeles Angels' Orlando Cabrera slides home in the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 20, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif.

"Miserable comes to mind. The others you can't print," manager Mike Hargrove said, trying to describe the skid. "It's a good time for a day off. Our guys have shown up every day to play, no matter the circumstances. Eventually, this thing will end."

Seattle's losing streak is its longest since September 1992, when the Mariners dropped a club-record 14 straight. All 11 losses have come on this road trip, the first winless trip of 11 or more games in the franchise's 30-year history.

"I don't know if there's a word to describe it," said Seattle closer J.J. Putz, who surrendered Figgins' hit. "There's been games where we haven't played very well, and games where we've played really well and just didn't get the `W.'

The Mariners have lost 20 straight games against AL West opponents, extending their major league record for consecutive losses within a team's own division and tying the mark for consecutive losses against any division. The Montreal Expos lost 20 straight against the NL West in 1969, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"They've obviously hit a rough spot in the last couple of weeks," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "But you learn something very quickly in this game -- nobody is going to feel sorry for you. It's just the nature of baseball."

Putz (2-1) came in with two out in the eighth after reliever Rafael Soriano gave up a walk to Orlando Cabrera and a single to Vladimir Guerrero. Garret Anderson, the Angels' career RBI leader, greeted Putz with an opposite-field single to left that brought home Cabrera to tie it at 2.

Reggie Willits led off the ninth with a single against Putz, advanced on Jose Molina's sacrifice bunt and came home when Figgins singled to left on the next pitch. The loss was Putz's first since Aug. 12, 2005, when the Angels beat him in Anaheim.

"I was surprised that it found a hole," Figgins said. "The ball I hit before that, I lined out to shortstop. I was thinking, if (Yuniesky) Betancourt catches this one, I'm going to go chasing him on the field."

Brendan Donnelly (3-0) pitched 1 2-3 scoreless innings of relief for the win, allowing an infield hit.

Angels starter Ervin Santana, who surrendered three home runs Tuesday in a no-decision at Texas, served up Richie Sexson's 26th drive of the season in the fourth inning after a single by Raul Ibanez. The Angels got a run closer in the sixth on consecutive doubles by Cabrera and Guerrero with none out.

Santana gave up two runs, four hits and five walks over seven innings while striking out six.

Left-hander Jake Woods, making his first major league start against his former team, threw 74 pitches over 5 2-3 innings and allowed a run and five hits. He struck out two, walked one and stranded runners at third base in the third and fourth innings.

The left-hander was inserted into the rotation after the struggling Joel Pineiro was demoted to the bullpen on Wednesday. Pineiro did not pitch in the four-game series against the Angels.

Suzuki, the Mariners' five-time Gold Glove right fielder, started in center for the fourth time in his career and first time since Aug. 17, 2002, at Detroit.

"Although we lost, playing center field today was something that was enjoyable in a different way than usual," Suzuki said through a translator. "When you play center field, you're able to see everything."

Seattle's Adrian Beltre was 0-for-4, ending his hitting streak at 15 games.

Bron : AP