Seattle @ Texas preview
Choctaw Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 8, 2010 ) Seattle 1, Texas 7
A day after falling out of the American League West lead, the Texas Rangers moved right back atop the division after a 7-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.
The Rangers snapped a two-game losing skid Tuesday and will look to win Game 3 of the series behind left-hander C.J. Wilson. The Mariners will counter with right-hander Ian Snell.
Wilson got off to a red-hot start after moving from the bullpen into the rotation over spring training, but he has struggled over his past four starts. In fact, Wilson hasn’t made it into the seventh inning since May 13, but showed signs of promise in his last start against Tampa Bay on Friday.
Wilson went five-plus innings, allowing five runs on six hits with five strikeouts to earn his first victory since May 7. And, in his lone start against the Mariners this season, Wilson went seven innings, allowing one run on five hits with four strikeouts in a no-decision.
Offensively, Elvis Andrus continues to shine in the leadoff role for the Rangers. He extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single and a two-run double on Tuesday night. Justin Smoak is also coming around. He had an RBI single and drew two walks and leads American League rookies with 26 walks.
And Vladimir Guerrero still puts on eye-opening displays of power at Rangers Ballpark. He hit a two-run home run Tuesday to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Josh Hamilton has had quite a start to June as well, posting a .419 average.
Seattle, meanwhile, will look to Snell to keep the Rangers’ bats in check. Snell, who rejoined the rotation last month after a brief demotion to the bullpen, went 5 1/3 innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, allowing four runs on three hits with four walks.
In four lifetime starts against Texas, Snell is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 24 innings.
Offensively, the Mariners struggled against Rangers starter Colby Lewis on Tuesday. Ichiro Suzuki was held hitless for the second straight game, marking the first time in his career that he was held without a hit in two consecutive games in Arlington. On top of that, Ichiro hasn’t recorded a hit in his past four games against Texas.
The Mariners desperately need to find a way to win on the road, as they’ve gone 8-18 away from home so far this season.