Seattle’s righty hitters find success vs. southpaw

SEATTLE — Franklin Gutierrez knows his role is to help balance the Mariners’ lineup when they face left-handed pitching. So yeah, the veteran outfielder takes it personally that the team has struggled against southpaws so much this season.

But on Monday, he and fellow right-handed platooners Dae-Ho Lee and Guillermo Heredia helped overpower Rangers left-handed ace Cole Hamels in a 14-6 runaway win at Safeco Field that — for the moment at least — took a little of the sting out of a three-game sweep in Texas last week.

“Yeah man, it’s not a secret that we’re not having very good success against left-handed pitchers,” Gutierrez said after going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. “And the teams we’re playing right now know that, and they’re throwing all the lefties they can. So it is important for us to do our job and get on base, drive in some runs and play a good game.”

The Mariners did it well enough in this one to knock Hamels out after just 1 2/3 innings, the second-shortest start of his career, to improve their record against left-handed starters to 22-31.

Seattle still sits five games back in the American League Wild Card race at 70-67, thanks to a 2-10 stretch prior to this Labor Day revival, but Gutierrez …

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