Matt Harrison has handcuffed the Seattle Mariners throughout his career. On Saturday, the Texas Rangers' left-hander will look to continue that dominance when he leads his club into the second contest of a three-game series versus its American League West rival. Harrison celebrated his 27th birthday by improving to 10-1 in his career against Seattle after coming within one out of a complete game on Sunday.
While Harrison traditionally gets the last laugh against the Mariners, it was the Pacific Northwest residents who drew first blood on Friday. Carlos Triunfel collected his first career RBI with a run-scoring double to snap a tie in the fourth inning as Seattle ended a four-game losing skid with a 6-3 triumph. The Rangers played their third consecutive game without Josh Hamilton, who will miss the remainder of the series with vision and recurring sinus problems. Texas sits just four games ahead of second-place Oakland in the AL West.
TV: 9:10 p.m. ET, FSH (Texas), ROOT (Seattle)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Matt Harrison (17-9, 3.26 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Blake Beavan (9-10, 4.88)
Harrison yielded one run on six hits in Sunday's 2-1 triumph over the Mariners. The southpaw, who has won four of his last six outings overall, has defeated Seattle in all four of his starts this season and has won 10 straight decisions. Harrison boasts career-bests in innings pitched (193 1/3), ERA (3.26) and WHIP (1.26) this season.
Beavan, who was unfortunately on the wrong end of Harrison's latest gem, pitched well in his own right on Sunday. The 23-year-old Texas native permitted two runs in seven solid innings to suffer his fourth loss in six starts. Beavan fell to 2-3 in his career versus the Rangers, but has a solid WHIP (1.03) and ERA (2.91) against them.
WALK-OFFS
1. Texas' Adrian Beltre is expected to be available after missing two of the last three games with stomach issues. Beltre has fared well versus Beavan, going 6-for-14 with a homer in his career.
2. Seattle 1B Justin Smoak, who collected three hits in the series opener, is 13-for-28 with six runs scored in his last seven contests. Like his fellow teammates, Smoak has struggled versus Harrison - going 4-for-18 in his career.
3. Rangers 3B Michael Young is riding a 10-game hitting streak, but has been held to just four singles in 15 career at-bats versus Beavan.