"Erik Bedard wasn't about to moan about his right fielder not catching the ball.

Nor was he beefing about the inability of his fellow Mariners to finish off innings at the plate in which they kept things close, but couldn't quite go the distance. About the only thing Bedard was really feeling after a 6-4 loss to the Texas Rangers on Monday night was happiness at getting to play baseball again.

As he's said all spring, he's a lucky man, fortunate to be back on the mound after three shoulder surgeries in three years. And for most of his five innings against a power-laden Texas Rangers lineup, he was pretty much the same, unflappable guy he's always been once the game begins.

"I try to be the same," said Bedard, who hadn't pitched in a game since July 25, 2009. "I'm four years older than the last three surgeries so, I just do the best I can."

His best wasn't good enough to win on a night Ichiro got handcuffed by a second-inning line drive with two outs and dropped it for an error, leading to two unearned runs on an ensuing triple by Julio Borbon. Nor was a Bedard changeup good enough to beat Nelson Cruz, who hammered it over the center-field wall in the fourth inning for his fourth home run in as many games to start the season.

Cruz joins Willie Mays and Mark McGwire as the only players to accomplish such a feat. A crowd of 37,618 at Rangers Ballpark also saw Elvis Andrus, the second batter Bedard faced, hit a home run for the first time in 705 at-bats dating to Sept. 2, 2009.

Not the greatest of beginnings for Bedard, who threw 51 pitches his first two innings. But Bedard needed just six pitches to escape the third inning, insisting afterward he didn't try to induce more contact."