Mariners at Astros
Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel isn't
handling the rising expectations well this season and strives to halt a
three-game losing streak when the Houston Astros host the Seattle
Mariners on Saturday. Keuchel has been torched for 16 runs and 26 hits
in 16 1/3 innings during the slide and his season ERA is an
uninspiring 5.11.
Keuchel is notoriously tough on himself, and his lackluster performances - combined with the team's dreadful start - has contributed to his poor showing. "When you want to be perfect and you want to be so good, sometimes that kind of overcompensates and you backtrack, and that's what I've been doing," Keuchel told reporters. "I'm putting pressure on myself." Houston will be looking for its fourth victory in five games after posting a 6-3 win on Friday to halt the Mariners' four-game winning streak. Seattle's Robinson Cano had his stretch of multi-hit performances end at five, and his 1-for-4 effort on Friday leaves him 9-for-21 against the Astros this season.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, ROOT (Seattle, Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Nathan Karns (3-1, 3.81 ERA) vs. Astros LH Dallas Keuchel (2-4, 5.11)
Karns is seeking to win his fourth consecutive decision as he hasn't lost since April 9. His best outing came at home against the Astros on April 26, when he gave up just two hits over seven scoreless innings of an 11-1 victory. Karns has posted a 0.69 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 13 career frames against Houston, which does not have a player with more than one career hit against him.
Keuchel also is bemoaning his control issues as he has walked 18 in 37 innings - a ratio of 4.38 per nine frames after he sported a 1.98 rate last year. One of the defeats during his skid came when he was matched against Karns in Seattle, where he allowed five runs and six hits in six innings. Keuchel is 4-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 10 career appearances (nine starts) against the Mariners and has been hit hard by Nelson Cruz (8-for-17, two homers).
WALK-OFFS
1. Astros SS Carlos Correa went 3-for-3 with a home run on Friday and is 6-for-11 with two blasts over his last three games after going 24 contests without a homer.
2. Seattle 3B Kyle Seager has recorded two hits in each of his last four contests and is 12-for-29 during his seven-game hitting streak.
3. Houston INF Marwin Gonzalez hit a two-run homer Friday - the first multi-run blast of his career after 25 solo shots.