ARLINGTON – It was hard to tell which deteriorated faster Saturday night, Texas Rangers starter Kevin Millwood's outing or the weather.

Rain delayed the start of Saturday's game at Rangers Ballpark by 17 minutes, and it only rained harder as the night wore on. The weather finally won the battle with the grounds crew with three outs remaining.

The game was called after a 1-hour, 6-minute rain delay with Seattle winning, 8-3. The result, combined with Boston's 9-1 victory over Tampa Bay, left the Rangers trailing the Red Sox by three games in the AL wild-card race.

The bad news for Millwood was that the heavy rain didn't come much earlier, as he posted his second-shortest outing of the season.

The right-hander lasted just 3 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs.

His appearance continued a bad trend for the opening-day starter, who started July with an 8-5 record but has won just two games since.

None of his starts this season have been as troubling as Saturday's against Seattle. The only shorter outing he's had this season was July 26 in Kansas City. He left that game after two innings because of tightness in his left gluteus muscle.

His exit Saturday had nothing to do with an injury and everything to do with his pitching. He faced 21 batters, and 10 of them reached against him. He allowed eight hits, including two homers. He struggled with his command, with only 39 of his 69 pitches going for strikes.

Millwood (10-10) couldn't make the key pitch when he needed to. Seattle took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out single from Ken Griffey Jr.

The Mariners added two more runs in the third, but the Rangers responded with two of their own in the bottom of the inning.

But instead of getting the shutdown inning in the fourth, Millwood saw his night come to an end.

After a single and a walk opened the inning, he retired the next two batters. But Franklin Gutierrez ripped a two-run double to right to put the Mariners up, 5-2. Following his second walk of the night, Millwood was pulled for Dustin Nippert.

The Rangers were able to stay within striking distance until the seventh, when the Mariners put the game away with two runs.

Texas' offense was surprisingly sluggish against Brandon Morrow. The Rangers managed three runs off him in five innings, but that was an off night for them against the right-hander.

The Rangers beat him July 10, and he was sent to the minors following that start. He was 0-3 with a 14.29 ERA against the Rangers this season, and Saturday's start was his first big-league appearance since his last outing against Texas.

Once Morrow left, so did the offense, as the Rangers went hitless until the ninth. Marlon Byrd opened the inning with a single and reached second as Seattle shortstop Jack Wilson made an error while slipping to field a grounder.

The umpires then stepped in, stopping the game.