"Much as he tried to avoid doing so, Ichiro Suzuki couldn't help but think of the 2008 season as he reached another historic hits milestone Thursday.

The Seattle Mariners that year lost 101 games, and when Felix Hernandez pitched a two-hitter – and lost 1-0 on Jose Bautista's 50th home run – the 2010 Mariners had 94 losses and 10 games to play.

As relentless a hitting machine as ever put on a uniform, Ichiro added two more against the Blue Jays, reached the 200-hit mark for the 10th consecutive year and then glanced to his own dugout.

He wasn't sure what he'd see there.

"This year was tough because of the season we've had, and I couldn't help remembering 2008," Ichiro said. "The team is not the same, the results are. When I looked over to the dugout and saw my teammates were happy for me, it was a great relief."

Those teammates – from rookies like Matt Mangini to veterans like Jose Lopez and Chone Figgins – stood on the top step of the dugout and applauded Ichiro matching Pete Rose for the most 200-hit seasons in big-league history (10).

That it came on a day when the Mariners' offense was it's usual stymied self was frustrating not just to Ichiro but also to Hernandez, whose complete-game two-hit effort left him with a loss, a 12-12 record and a 2.31 earned-run average.

On a first-inning, 2-1 pitch, Bautista homered to become the 26th man in big-league history to hit as many as 50 in a season."