Mariners at Royals
The Seattle Mariners can earn at least a split of their four-game road series against the Kansas City Royals with a win Saturday – something they haven’t done in more than a month. After snapping a 10-game road skid, the Mariners look to make it two in a row when they send veteran Wade Miley to the mound.
Miley, who tossed a five-hit shutout against the Royals on April 30 in Seattle, was the starter the last time the Mariners salvaged a split on the road, taking a no-decision in a 16-13 win in the finale of a two-game set at San Diego on June 2. He will face a Royals club that is hitting just .199 as a team and averaging 2.5 runs while losing five of its last six. The defending World Series champions have slipped eight games behind Cleveland in the American League Central. The Mariners, who trail Texas by 9 1/2 games in the AL West, snapped a 19-game losing streak when scoring three runs or fewer with Friday’s 3-2 victory.
TV: 4:15 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Wade Miley (6-5, 5.36 ERA) vs. Royals RH Edinson Volquez (7-8, 4.87)
Miley has lost three straight starts, but the Mariners have managed only one run in each of the last two. The 29-year-old pitched well enough to win Monday at Houston, holding the Astros to two runs and seven hits over 6 2/3 innings in a 2-1 defeat. Miley is 4-1 with a 2.91 ERA in five career starts against the Royals.
Volquez was tagged for 12 runs (11 earned) in one-plus inning on June 24 against Houston, but he has bounced back with two solid outings. The 33-year-old tossed 6 2/3 scoreless frames in a no-decision at St. Louis on June 29 and allowed just one run through six innings before being charged with three more in the seventh in a 6-2 loss at Toronto on Monday. Volquez is 4-0 with a 2.37 ERA in seven career games (six starts) against the Mariners.
WALK-OFFS
1. Royals C Salvador Perez, who is 5-for-9 with a homer versus Miley, is a career .345 hitter in 33 games against the Mariners.
2. Mariners 3B Kyle Seager is 18-for-40 with two homers during his 11-game hitting streak.
3. Kansas City SS Alcides Escobar has reached base in a career-best 24 consecutive games.