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SEATTLE -- Hisashi Iwakumas pregame neck stiffness was serious enough that he had to call for the training staff. Fortunately for the Seattle Mariners, he found a way to take the mound Sunday. Iwakuma pitched eight effective innings to help the Mariners stop a five-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Texas Rangers. "I needed to pitch today. I felt responsible, especially after losing five in a row," Iwakuma said through an interpreter. Kyle Seager had four hits and three RBIs for Seattle, continuing his strong play against Texas. Dustin Ackley and Brad Miller also drove in a run. Iwakuma allowed one run on Brad Snyders first career homer in the second and six hits. Charlie Furbush then got three outs to complete the six-hitter. It was quite a turnaround for Iwakuma after he felt stiffness in his neck as he prepared for his ninth start of the season. "To be honest, yes, as I was playing catch before my bullpen I did feel that way," Iwakuma said of having doubts he would be able to pitch. Iwakuma, who didnt make his first start of the season until May 3 due to a finger injury on his throwing hand, improved to 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA in three starts this month. "My bodys starting to get used to season mode and Im feeling a lot better and stronger now, so I think Im good to go from here on," said Iwakuma, who was hopeful his neck wouldnt be a problem moving forward. The Mariners left a runner in scoring position in each of the first four innings before Seager drove in Endy Chavez and Robinson Cano with a two-out double in the fifth, lifting Seattle to a 2-1 lead. "Its been a little bit of a grind as of late, but before that we were playing really good baseball," Seager said. "Thats just kind of the way baseball goes. You go from scoring runs all the time to kind of hit a little rough patch, but thats just kind of one of the things you grind through it." Seager added an RBI double in Seattles three-run eighth as the Mariners avoided being passed in the standings by the Rangers. Seager has played well against the Rangers in his career, hitting .338 with 34 extra-base hits and 38 RBIs. Seager is hitting .396 (19 for 48) this season against Texas with three home runs and 12 RBIs. Rangers starter Nick Martinez (1-4) allowed nine hits and walked one, but held the Mariners to two runs in six innings. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 9.45 ERA in his last three starts. "He found his secondary stuff today," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Threw a lot of changeups, threw some breaking balls. And with Nick, you need all of his pitches to manoeuvr through the batting order and they did. He made the mistake to Seager but certainly a big improvement." NOTES: Mariners 1B Logan Morrison departed after five innings due to a cut above his left eye that needed five stitches. Morrison was hurt when he swung his bat in frustration at the dugout wall and had a piece fly back and hit him. Catcher John Buck replaced him in his first major league appearance at the position. ... Mariners 1B Justin Smoak (strained quad), OF Corey Hart (strained hamstring) and OF Michael Saunders (shoulder inflammation) are close to being sent out on rehab assignments as they work their way back from stints on the disabled list, manager Lloyd McClendon said. The Seattle skipper said all three could begin a rehab assignment by weeks end. ... Texas OF Leonys Martin occupied the top spot in the lineup for the second time in as many days on Sunday as the Rangers try to find a consistent leadoff hitter. Washington said that doesnt necessarily mean he has secured that role, though. Discount Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys . The South Africa international, who rejoined the club last month on loan from Tottenham, opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a powerful shot into the roof of the net. Authentic Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys . Gonzalez participated in his final game on Sunday, Atlantas 21-20 defeat at the hands of the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers, having posted four catches for 46 yards. http://www.cheapbengals.com/ . Brassard and Coyotes defenceman Derek Morris were battling for position in the crease when a nudge from Morris sent Brassard on top of Smith late in the third period. Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys China . Starting from pole, the 26-year-old Vettel turned in a trademark clinical performance to win the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday and join F1 greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher as just the third driver to win four consecutive championships. Custom Bengals Jerseys . -- Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu will be the Dodgers starting pitchers in their two-game season-opening series in Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks.LONDON -- Real Madrids 6-1 thrashing of Schalke followed by its 2-2 draw with La Liga title rival Atletico Madrid sent it to the top of this weeks Associated Press global football poll. Madrid edged Bayern Munich by three points to take team of the week honours for the second time this season. It was even closer in the player poll, where Munichs Arjen Robben beat Madrids Cristiano Ronaldo by two votes. Robben scored a hat trick in Bayerns 5-1 Bundesliga victory, also against Schalke, and runner-up Ronaldo managed a brace against Schalke in the Champions League. "Bayern Munich have gone unbeaten for an incredible 48 Bundesliga games and dont just beat opponents: They hammer them," Richard Jolly of ESPN said. Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sympathized with Schalkes tough week. "What in the name of soccer did Schalke 04 have to do to get a schedule where it played Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in a span of four days? Thats inhumane," Timmermann said. "And Schalkes in fourth place in the Bundesliga." Manchester City was third in the team vote after coming from behind to win the League Cup final against Sunderland 3-1. Yaya Toure, who levelled for City in the second half at Wembley wiith a curling long-range strike, was sixth in the poll, tied with Carlos Tevez.dddddddddddd Tevez led fourth-place Juventus to a 2-0 away win over AC Milan. "It was impressive the way Carlos Tevez played this game: He was everywhere, showing a real fighting spirit, working hard for the team and scoring an amazing goal," panellist Aurelio Capldi of RAI Sport in Italy said. "He is now the Serie A top scorer." Chelsea was fifth after its 4-1 victory against Fulham saw it move four points ahead at the top of the Premier League, after Arsenal lost to Stoke 1-0. Germany attacker Andre Schurrle scored a second-half hat trick for Chelsea and enters the poll for the first time this season in third position. Robert Lewandowski of Borussia Dortmund was fourth, and Luis Suarez fifth after scoring on his 100th Premier League appearance for Liverpool as it won 3-0 away at Southampton to rise to second in the league. "The Uruguayan international striker creates, performs and leads his team higher and higher," Manos Staramopoulos of Eleftheros Typos in Greece said. After Tevez and Toure, the rest of the top 10 were Lionel Messi, Aritz Aduriz of Athletic Bilbao, and Karim Benzema of Real Madrid. 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