Rios, Beltre holding steady through team's adversity

SEATTLE -- So far outfielder Alex Rios and third baseman Adrian Beltre are not letting the Rangers' massive number of injuries affect their offensive production.

Rios went into Friday's game with the Mariners hitting .329, second highest in the American League. Robinson Cano led with a .333 batting average. Beltre hit .472 (17-for-36) on the Rangers' last home stand, raising his overall average to .323, third best in the American League.

"We're playing the game of baseball," Beltre said. "When you get in the batter's box, you're not thinking about all that other stuff. You're just thinking about hitting the ball hard. You can't fix everything or feel sorry about what's going on with the team, which is unbelievable. You can't think about anything except doing your job."

Rios also leads the league with eight triples, which already ties his career high. His eight triples in 64 games are ahead of the pace set by Ruben Sierra when he hit a club-record 14 triples in 1989. Sierra hit his eighth triple in his 72nd game.

"It is tough, what's happened to our team, but there's not much you can do except play," Rios said. "We weren't expecting this to happen, but the only way to deal with it is go out and play."

Shin-Soo Choo isn't in the Top 10 in hitting. He is batting .176 in his last 33 games while dealing with a sprained left ankle and that's dropped his average from .370 to .261. But he is second in the league with a .397 on-base percentage.