Rays at Mariners
The red-hot Robinson Cano looks to stay on a roll when his Seattle Mariners host the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night to open a three-game series. Cano leads the American League with 12 homers – four in the last eight games as he has gone 18-for-35 with nine RBIs – and has made a habit of punishing Tampa Bay with a .314 average, 24 blasts and 101 RBIs in 166 contests.
Cano has hit safely in eight straight outings and Kyle Seager is 16-for-37 with three homers during a nine-game hitting streak for the Mariners, who finished a 5-2 road trip with a loss at Houston on Sunday. Felix Hernandez attempts to improve on his 7-2 lifetime mark against the Rays on Monday when he faces Matt Moore, who comes in with three straight losses. Tampa Bay is also on the upswing while boasting a season-high four-game win streak, including a 3-1 triumph at the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday that pushed the Rays over .500 (15-14) for the first time in 2016. Brad Miller’s bat appears to be waking up for Tampa Bay after going 6-for-14 with two homers in the sweep of the Angels.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), ROOT (Seattle)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Matt Moore (1-3, 4.95 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Felix Hernandez (2-2, 2.21)
Moore comes in off his worst start of the season when he allowed seven runs and eight hits in a season-low 4 1/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 26-year-old gave up six runs in his first three outings and 14 in the past three while surrendering six homers overall. Cano is 5-for-20 with a homer versus Moore, who is 1-1 with a 1.71 ERA in four career games against the Mariners.
Hernandez avoided a loss last time out after permitting eight runs (four earned) over four innings at Oakland. The 30-year-old Venezuelan yielded one or fewer earned runs in four of his previous five starts and is holding opponents to a .204 average overall. Evan Longoria is just 6-for-27 with 11 strikeouts against Hernandez, who owns a 1.90 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings versus Tampa Bay.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay RF Steven Souza Jr. is 6-for-13 with two homers and three RBIs during a four-game hitting streak.
2. The Mariners won four of the seven meetings last season, but went 1-3 in four games at Seattle.
3. Rays RHP Alex Colome, a closer for the first time this season, is 9-for-9 in save opportunities with a 0.92 WHIP.