The Seattle Mariners go for their second straight series win Sunday, when they visit the Texas Rangers in the rubber match of their three-game set. After being swept of a three-game series at home by Oakland, Seattle kicked off its six-game road trip by taking two of three at Toronto. The Mariners dropped Friday's series opener but bounced back with an 8-6 victory on Saturday thanks to Justin Smoak, who led off the eighth inning with a home run to snap a tie and added an RBI single in the ninth.
Texas, which rallied from a 6-0 deficit to knot the game, saw its lead over Oakland in the American League West shrink to two games as the Athletics topped Baltimore on Saturday. The Rangers received a boost from Mike Napoli, who belted a three-run homer in the sixth in his first game off the disabled list. Napoli had been sidelined since Aug. 11 with a strained left quadriceps muscle.
TV: 3:05 p.m. ET, Root Sports (Seattle), FSN Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Blake Beavan (9-9, 5.01 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Matt Harrison (16-9, 3.36)
Beavan is coming off his third loss in five starts, a setback against Boston in which he yielded four runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. It was the fourth time in six outings the 23-year-old has surrendered four runs. Beavan evened his career record against the Rangers at 2-2 despite allowing five runs in six innings at Texas on May 30.
Harrison, who will be celebrating his 27th birthday on Sunday, halted a personal two-game skid Tuesday against Cleveland, allowing two runs over 5 2/3 innings. After back-to-back eight-inning performances, Harrison has failed to complete six frames in each of his last three outings. He has dominated Seattle during his career, going 9-1 with two complete games, one shutout and a 2.25 ERA in 16 games - 12 starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Rangers' division lead is at its lowest since April 13, when they also were ahead by two games.
2. Smoak's tiebreaking blast ended his 21-game homerless drought.
3. Texas recalled RHPs Justin Grimm and Wilmer Font from Double-A Frisco, giving it 34 players on the active roster.