ARLINGTON – The longest day of the season at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington saw a pair of rookie pitchers continue to head in different directions. It ended with the Rangers facing an even longer road to a postseason berth.

They split a doubleheader Sunday with Seattle, which doesn't sound like a completely lost day. But both teams they are chasing in the playoff races gained ground, and the Rangers' gap to the postseason is the largest it's been this month.

Tommy Hunter logged his first complete game to win the opener, 7-2. The Mariners handed Derek Holland his fourth straight loss, 5-0, in the nightcap.

"It's tough to win doubleheaders," manager Ron Washington said. "We came out and played well in the first game, and we didn't score any runs in the second game. We'll bounce back and get on a roll."

Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki became the first player in major league history to collect 200 hits in nine consecutive seasons. The record-breaker was an infield single in the second inning. It drew a standing ovation from the sparse crowd that endured the constant threat of rain.

Holland became a footnote to baseball history, perhaps the highlight of his six-inning outing. He allowed five runs on eight hits, an improvement over his previous three starts but a loss nonetheless in a game the Rangers needed to win.

Boston swept its doubleheader Sunday and now leads the American League wild-card standings by four games with 20 to play. The Rangers' margin is six games behind Los Angeles in the AL West.

But the Rangers aren't folding their tents, not with seven games remaining against the Angels. Boston has three more games with New York, and the Red Sox's next three are against the Angels.

"We just have to win games. That's the bottom line," second baseman Ian Kinsler said. "We don't have that many left. It was tough losing two out of three to these guys with all the delays. It was just a tough series all the way around. But we've got to get back with it."

Hunter's next start will come against the Angels, and the Rangers can only hope it's as effective as his effort Sunday. Once the rain cleared 4 ½ hours after the originally scheduled first pitch, he allowed only six hits on a tidy 102 pitches as he mixed his curveball and changeup with a sinking fastball.

Hunter (8-3) encountered trouble only in the third, when Ichiro doubled in Ryan Langerhans. If not for slick outfield conditions, Julio Borbon might have tracked down the well-place blooper in left field.

Holland (7-11) allowed single runs in the first, second and fourth, and Beltre hit a two-run homer with two outs in the fifth to give Hernandez a five-run cushion.

The Cy Young candidate beat the Rangers for the third time this season. He scattered four singles in seven innings. The Rangers put runners in scoring position three times with one out, including two times at third base, but Hernandez (15-5) escaped from each jam.

"He is one of the toughest in the league," Washington said.