Texas @ Seattle preview

Last Meeting ( May 5, 2011 ) Texas 1, Seattle 3

THE STORY: The streaking Texas Rangers face the sliding Seattle Mariners on Thursday as the American League West rivals resume play after the All-Star break. The Rangers won their final seven games prior to the break to improve to a season-best 10 games above .500. The Mariners lost five straight to fall a season-worst 7 1/2 games out of first place. Texas leads the Los Angeles Angels by one game in the division and will play a three-game series in Anaheim following the current four-game set against the Mariners. Seattle can’t afford to fall any further behind with a nine-game road swing against Toronto, Boston and the New York Yankees looming. Texas is 4-2 against Seattle this season.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FSH, ROOT.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Jason Vargas (6-6, 3.49) vs. Rangers LH Derek Holland (7-4, 4.68) --

Vargas is 3-3 over his last seven starts and has tossed complete-game shutouts in all three victories. He lost to Oakland in his last outing when he gave up two runs and five hits over eight innings. Vargas has issued just nine walks in 55 1/3 innings during his last seven starts. Vargas defeated Texas in May when he gave up one run and six hits in 7 2/3 innings. He is 2-3 with a 4.23 ERA in nine appearances (seven starts) against the Rangers. Michael Young is batting .389 in 18 career at-bats against Vargas.

Holland was sensational in his last outing, blanking Oakland on four hits on July 7 for his second shutout of the season. Holland struck out seven and walked two. His previous start had been a disaster when he lasted just two-thirds of an inning and gave up five runs in losing to Florida. Holland gave up three runs in six innings during an April start against Seattle and is 3-1 with a 3.81 ERA in seven career appearances (three starts) against the Mariners.

ABOUT THE MARINERS (43-48): Seattle is 12-20 over its past 32 games and has scored just nine runs during its five-game skid. The Mariners are last in the majors in both runs scored (301) and batting average (.224). Ichiro Suzuki leads the regulars with a .270 average, 58 points below his career average. Ichiro does have 101 hits, giving him 11 straight seasons of 100 or more at the All-Star break. First baseman Justin Smoak is in a deep slump (4-for-55 since June 23) to drop his average to .229. Smoak hasn’t homered since June 12. His 12 homers tie him with Miguel Olivo for the club high.

ABOUT THE RANGERS (51-41): Texas has outscored its opponents 53-22 during its seven-game win streak. The Rangers have scored six or more runs in five of the victories. In July, Texas is averaging 7.7 runs per game while winning eight of 10 games. The Rangers are second in the majors with 112 homers and 457 runs scored. Nelson Cruz has a team-high 20 homers and Adrian Beltre has 19. Beltre, who leads the team with 71 RBIs, has four homers during the seven-game win streak. Shortstop Elvis Andrus is 10-for-19 over the last five games. Ian Kinsler has been successful on his last 18 steal attempts. He’s 19-for-21 on the season.

FINAL PITCH: Texas has scored 10 or more runs 10 times this season, three of them occurring this month. The Rangers scored a season-high 15 against the Florida Marlins on July 1 and twice tallied 13 against the Baltimore Orioles (July 4 and 6).