Mariners at Rangers
Suffice to say the Texas Rangers seek more offensive production Tuesday when they host the Seattle Mariners, who will need a better defensive effort after losing the season opener 3-2 on Monday. Texas took advantage of its only hit – a bloop single from Prince Fielder – along with three walks and two errors in a three-run fifth inning to end the Mariners’ nine-year opening-day winning streak.
“I’ve never won like this,” Fielder told reporters after Monday’s game, in which Cole Hamels kept the defending American League West champions close after surrendering two early homers. Jake Diekman and Shawn Tolleson combined for three strikeouts across a perfect final two innings. The Rangers throw a left-hander at Seattle for the second straight game when Martin Perez takes the mound Tuesday against Hisashi Iwakuma, who looks to settle the Mariners after Felix Hernandez walked five hitters in Monday’s loss. “Other than that, I thought we played a ball game,” Seattle first-year manager Scott Servais told the media afterward. “Our pitching was outstanding all day.”
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), FSN Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Hisashi Iwakuma (2015: 9-5, 3.54 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Martin Perez (2015: 3-6, 4.46)
A sprained finger in 2014 and a strained lat muscle last season limited Iwakuma to 48 starts total over the two years, and potentially those health issues led to the Los Angeles Dodgers nixing a deal with the Japan native in the offseason as he returned to Seattle in December. He posted a 3.10 ERA in his final 17 games, highlighted by an Aug. 12 no-hitter against Baltimore. Iwakuma went 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA and a .216 opponents’ batting average in his final 12 outings, striking out eight or more hitters in three of his last four outings.
Tommy John surgery cost Perez the first half of his 2015 campaign, but the 25-year-old posted a 3.38 ERA across his final 11 starts. He went 1-5 with a 3.40 ERA in seven starts where the Rangers scored two runs or less. Perez, a 10-game winner who finished sixth in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting in 2013 before injuries crept in, went 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts against Seattle last season with 14 hits allowed in 11 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Seattle 1B Dae-Ho Lee struck out in his major-league debut Monday, as the South Korean star left two runners on base in the seventh inning.
2. Texas LF Ian Desmond did not have a ball hit his way all game in his debut in left field.
3. Mariners 2B Robinson Cano and 3B Kyle Seager each homered in the opener, but C Chris Iannetta was the only other Seattle player to register a hit (2-for-2).