SEATTLE – Mike Adams may cause heart rates to rise in the Rangers' dugout when he steps on the mound, but more often than not the setup reliever just gets the job done.

A perfect example of that came in the bottom of the eighth Sunday afternoon against the Mariners. Adams loaded the bases with one out and had to face Eric Thames, the Seattle right fielder who lifted a solo home run just one inning prior.

But Adams struck out Thames and got Luis Jimenez to fly out, preserving the one-run lead.

“I’ve kind of programmed myself for situations like that this year,” Adams said.

Adams has given up 12 hits in his past 6 2/3 innings of work. Though he’s also allowed four earned runs in those seven games, the Rangers have won all of them.

Manager Ron Washington is confident in his reliever, despite his knack for allowing baserunners.

“Mike Adams is my eighth-inning guy,” Washington said. “He’ll face lefties, righties – doesn’t matter who they are.”

Maybe facing high-intensity situations will end up being beneficial for the postseason, when pressure reaches maximum levels.

“You’ve just got to tighten up and go right after them and be aggressive as possible,” Adams said. “You have to stay positive with what’s going to happen. I put myself in too many of those situations this year, but at the same time, it’s conditioned me to handle them.”

And when it comes down to it, the setup reliever struts a 2.84 ERA, has his manager’s confidence and often does what’s expected.

“I haven’t always had the cleanest innings,” says Adams, “but the end result is always the same.”