Seattle @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 15, 2011 ) LA Angels 1, Seattle 3
THE STORY: The Los Angeles Angels have won seven straight series and improved their play at home. The Angels, 7-2 on their season-high 13-game homestand, will send ace Jered Weaver to the mound Thursday night to start the four-game series against the Seattle Mariners. Los Angeles, which came into the homestand 15-20 at Angel Stadium, has allowed 21 runs in its last nine games. The Mariners have also gotten outstanding pitching, allowing seven runs in six July games - winning four. Seattle is 3-2 against Los Angeles in 2011. The Angels were 15-4 against the Mariners last season.
TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), ROOT (Seattle)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Jered Weaver (10-4, 1.92 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Doug Fister (3-9, 3.02).
Weaver has allowed three runs in his last four starts, going 3-0, and has won four straight decisions overall. He has 114 strikeouts and 30 walks over 131 1/3 innings. Weaver is 11-4 lifetime against Seattle with a 3.44 ERA in 128 1/3 innings. Weaver has struck out Jack Cust 12 times in 31 at-bats, but the Mariners slugger has seven RBIs against him. Fister has gotten the worst run support in the majors and the last three games have been a prime example. He allowed one run in each - pitching 25 innings combined - and went 0-1. Fister has not won since May 30. In his 17 starts, he has given up two runs or less runs 10 times. He is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 35 innings against the Angels.
ABOUT THE ANGELS (46-42): Los Angeles has pitched well much of the season and its hitting is starting to come around. Howard Kendrick has been one of the leaders, hitting safely in the last 15 games. He is 19-for-58 in that span to raise his average to .307. Vernon Wells has continued to improve, going 4-for-12 in the series against Detroit, and Torii Hunter is also on an upswing. Hunter has a team-leading 40 RBIs despite batting .240. Mark Trumbo rebounded from three tough games (0-for-10) with four hits in 11 at-bats against the Tigers and his team-leading 14th homer.
ABOUT THE MARINERS (43-44): Seattle has leaned on its strong pitching staff through the first half of the season, but must get its offense going if it wants to remain in the American League West race. Ichiro Suzuki is 6-for-15 in the last four games and rookie Dustin Ackley has hit in eight of the last nine games (11-for-32) to raise his average to .302. Justin Smoak still shares the team lead in homers (12) with Miguel Olivo, and leads in RBIs (42) despite going 21 games without a home run. The bottom of the order has struggled. Franklin Gutierrez has two hits in his last 25 at-bats and Chone Figgins is 1-for-25.
FINAL PITCH: The Mariners called up infielder Kyle Seager on Wednesday. Seager, 23, was batting .455 in 12 games at Triple A Tacoma after moving up from Double A Jackson.