Mariners at Angels
The Seattle Mariners hope to have ace Felix Hernandez on the mound Saturday as they aim for their fourth straight win against the host Los Angeles Angels, who have lost six of their last eight games. Hernandez was scratched from Friday’s series opener due to illness and was replaced by Hisashi Iwakuma, who worked eight strong frames in the Mariners' 5-2, 10-inning victory.
Hernandez is 7-2 with a 1.37 ERA over his last 14 starts against the Angels, but Seattle manager Scott Servais has a backup plan in place if the six-time All-Star isn’t cleared to pitch Saturday. “We’ll see how he is. Fingers crossed, hopefully he’s okay,” Servais told MLB.com. “If not, we’ve got to go to Plan B, which we’d probably look at Mike Montgomery or somebody like that. But hopefully, he’ll be able to go.” If healthy, Hernandez would give the Mariners a definite edge over the Angels, who rank last in the AL in runs scored with 49 and have been limited to four runs or fewer in 14 of their first 17 games. Albert Pujols is batting .138 after going hitless in his last 23 at-bats, while Carlos Perez (.162) has gone 15 at-bats without a hit.
TV: 9:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), FSN West (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Felix Hernandez (1-1, 1.00 ERA) vs. Angels LH Hector Santiago (1-0, 2.61)
Hernandez overcame a career high-tying six walks and earned his first win last Saturday by holding the New York Yankees to one run over five innings. The 30-year-old is 14-14 with a 3.30 ERA in 46 career starts against the Angels, but he’s struggled to contain Mike Trout, who is batting .354 (23-for-65) with four home runs and 13 RBI against Seattle’s all-time leader in starts and innings pitched. Kole Calhoun is 4-for-33 versus Hernandez, who is 4-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 23 outings at Angel Stadium.
Santiago continued his strong start on Monday with a stellar outing against the White Sox as he tossed seven scoreless innings and matched a career high with 10 strikeouts. “That was the best stuff I’ve seen Hector have since he’s been with us,” manager Mike Scioscia told reporters. The 28-year-old is 2-2 with one save and a 3.28 ERA in 12 career games (four starts) against Seattle, and he’s held Robinson Cano to three hits in 16 at-bats.
WALK-OFFS
1. Seattle LF Nori Aoki has hit safely in all nine games he has played against the Angels.
2. The Angels have won each of Santiago’s last nine starts dating back to last season.
3. Cano is three RBI shy of 1,000 for his career.