SEATTLE -- As an indication of just how much left fielder Raul Ibanez has meant to the Mariners' offense this season, consider this: The team has had four or more RBIs in a game from one player just 10 times and almost half of them belong to Ibanez.

He has a six-RBI game, a five-RBI game and two four-RBI games so far, and there are 20 games remaining in what might be his final season with Seattle. He is eligible for free agency and, although Mariners officials have said they want him to return next season -- and beyond -- he might decide to finish his career closer to his offseason home in Florida.

The 36-year-old reached the 100-RBI mark for the third consecutive season on Saturday night, when he drove in four runs against the Yankees, and is one of 12 players in franchise history to have at least 25 home runs and 100 RBIs in the same season.

Ibanez has more RBIs on his mind heading into the final two meetings against the American League West rival Rangers.

"He's in great shape and is an unbelievable worker," manager Jim Riggleman said. "His and Ichiro [Suzuki's] preparation for the game are second to none. They have great routines and they play like young guys. They have tremendous pride, and if I'm not mistaken, neither one of them has missed a game this year. Neither one of them is in the training room.

"They come to play every day and do play every day."

While Ibanez already has surpassed the 100-RBI mark, which he did in 2006 with a career-high 123 and again last season with 105, Ichiro is closing in on an eighth straight 200-hit season.

It won't happen during the upcoming two-game series against the Rangers -- he still needs 15 hits to become only the second player in Major League Baseball history to string together eighth straight 200-plus hits. The only other player to do it is Hall of Famer Willie Keeler.

Mariners ace right-hander Felix Hernandez certainly would appreciate a little of what both Ibanez and Ichiro do best in Tuesday night's miniseries opener that features an attractive pitching matchup. Five days ago, Hernandez surrendered just one run to the Rangers, but he lost the game to Texas right-hander Dustin Nippert.

A victory for Hernandez would remove the Mariners from the short list of MLB teams without at least one 10-game winner this season. The Padres and Pirates are the only clubs without a double-digit winner on their pitching staffs.

Pitching matchup
SEA: RHP Felix Hernandez (9-9, 3.18 ERA)
Hernandez gets another shot at the Rangers and his 10th victory of the season in the series opener against Texas. The right-hander surrendered a run in the first inning on Wednesday in Arlington, and it ended up being the only run of the game, as the ace lost his ninth game of the season. Hernandez has made 16 quality starts this season, but he lost two of them and settled for a no-decision in seven others. Only three other starting pitchers in the AL have received less run support than Hernandez this season, and one of them is teammate Jarrod Washburn. Pitching a shutout might be just the thing Hernandez must do to become Seattle's first double-digit winner in 2008.

TEX: RHP Vicente Padilla (12-7, 4.98 ERA)
Padilla is coming off the disabled list after being sidelined with both a strained left hamstring and inflammation in a muscle joint between his right shoulder and neck. The inflammation has been a problem for most of the second half, and he is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in his last four starts. He is 9-3 with a 5.33 ERA on the road this year, and 3-5 with a 4.86 ERA in 13 games, including 11 starts, against the Mariners in his career.

Tidbits
Third baseman Adrian Beltre goes into the Rangers series with a season-best 13-game hitting streak, just four shy of his career high. He is batting a robust .472 (25-for-53), scored 14 runs, hit five home runs and driven in 11 runs during the streak. His 25 home runs are one shy of his single-season high with Seattle (26 last season), but light years away from his career high of 48 with the Dodgers in 2004. ... For what it's worth, the Rangers already have clinched bragging rights for '08, beating the Mariners 10 times in 17 games. Seattle won the season series last season, 11-8, including the final three games of the season at Safeco Field.

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Up next
• Wednesday: Rangers (Kevin Millwood, 9-8, 5.01) at Mariners (TBD), 1:40 p.m. PT
• Thursday: Mariners (Brandon Morrow, 2-2, 1.42) at Angels (John Lackey, 11-3, 3.25), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Friday: Mariners (TBD) at Angels (TBD), 7:05 p.m. PT