"Seattle Mariners rookie Kyle Seager wasn't in the lineup against the Rangers on Thursday, with the Rangers throwing left-hander Derek Holland. But manager Eric Wedge said he's not planning to sit Seager against every lefty the Mariners see.

Still, for a night, at least, Seager's absence from the lineup gave Chone Figgins another chance to start at third base, an occasion about as rare as a Jack Cust home run these days.

Don't expect him to get too many more, though. At least not in Seager's stead. The rookie struggled in his first series in the big leagues, recording just one hit in his first 12 at-bats.

Wedge made it clear Seager isn't a platoon player, though.

"We're going to have a few lefties coming our way here, so he's goig to have his opportunities," Wedge said of his rookie third baseman. "(We're going to) give him a chance to come back here after a good work day today."

Speaking of work, the Mariners did plenty prior to the game. The entire team was on the field at about 3:20 p.m., stretching and warming up before taking extended infield practice. Wedge said he likes to have longer workouts like that after the long layoff of the All-Star break.

They need all the practice they can get after dropping nine of their last 13 games, including a four-game sweep against the Los Angeles Angels just before the break that may very well have ended any hope the Mariners had of hanging around the American League West race.

They now sit 7.5 games back of Texas, which will play a four-game series at Safeco Field this weekend."