Seattle @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 21, 2011 ) Seattle 5, Washington 6

THE STORY: The Washington Nationals are starting to play with the kind of confidence that power from the top to the bottom of the order can instill. An improbable comeback Tuesday night gave the Nationals nine wins in their last 10 games as the .500 mark becomes more of a reality. On the other side, a walk-off loss can be demoralizing, especially for a team that is battling for the top of its division and had been having success in interleague play. The Seattle Mariners will be looking to bounce back from that tough loss when they send Erik Bedard to the mound at Nationals Park on Wednesday night.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Root Sports (Seattle), MASN (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals LH John Lannan (4-5, 3.52 ERA) vs. Mariners LH Erik Bedard (4-4, 3.16 ERA). Lannan has not lost since May 21, allowing two runs or less in each of his last five turns. The 26-year old lefthander lasted seven innings against St. Louis last week, surrendering two runs on six hits in a no-decision. Lannan has struggled in interleague play, posting a 3-5 record with a 4.70 ERA in 11 starts. Bedard has resembled the pitcher Seattle traded for three years ago, when he was on his way to becoming one of the better lefthanders in the game before he was shut down with a torn labrum. Bedard, 32, recovered from an 18-month layoff, has gotten back to dominating American League hitters with a 1.70 ERA over his last nine starts. Bedard, who went seven scoreless innings against the Angels in his last outing, owns a 2.08 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings against Washington.

ABOUT THE NATIONALS (36-37): Washington keeps moving up in the National League East, all the way to third after Tuesday’s come-from-behind 6-5 victory. The Nationals, who rank sixth in the National League in home runs, could not get anything done in the first eight innings, but exploded for five runs in the ninth, capped by Wilson Ramos’ three-run walk-off blast. Washington has been pounding the ball recently, averaging 6.7 runs over its last seven games. The Nationals, who had 2012 and 2013 circled as the years they would begin to contend, have benefited from the emergence of Danny Espinosa, Mike Morse and Ramos, and may stick around in the wild card race for a while.

ABOUT THE MARINERS (37-36): Seattle also did not expect this to be the year, but the AL West is down and the door is wide open. One thing the Mariners are blessed with is strong starting pitching, and wasting a game in which the offense manages to scrape together five runs is not a good way to stay competitive. Doug Fister had allowed three hits and one run through eight innings Tuesday, but then watched as Brandon League and David Pauley combined to allow the five runs in the ninth. Rookie Dustin Ackley was again a bright spot, driving in a pair of runs and comfortably turning three double plays at second base.

FINAL PITCH: Former Washington closer Chad Cordero officially retired from baseball Monday. The 29-year old was an All-Star for Washington in 2005, but never recovered fully from multiple arm problems that derailed his career after the 2007 campaign. Cordero, who exits with 128 saves and a career 2.89 ERA, made nine appearances in 2010 for the Mariners and had been trying to get back into the game with the St. Paul Saints of the Independent Baseball League.