Mariners at Phillies
The Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies haven't been shy about keeping the scoreboard operator busy of late, albeit for different reasons. Seattle has erupted for 42 runs en route to winning five of its last six contests while host Philadelphia has permitted 43 while losing six of seven heading into Wednesday afternoon's finale of the two-game interleague series at Citizens Bank Park.
The clubs combined for 19 runs, 27 hits and five homers in the opener, which saw Seattle rally from a four-run deficit to record its third straight win with a 10-9 triumph. Robinson Cano went deep in the third before exiting in the following inning with a quadriceps injury, likely putting the seven-time All-Star on the sideline for Wednesday's matinee. Aaron Altherr went deep for the second straight game and has four multi-hit performances during his seven-game hitting streak, during which he has three homers, 11 RBIs and seven runs scored. Former Mariner Michael Saunders also went deep to hit safely for the 10th time in 13 contests and is 1-for-4 in his career in a small sample versus Wednesday starter Yovani Gallardo.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, ROOT (Seattle), CSN Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Yovani Gallardo (1-3, 4.46 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Zach Eflin (0-0, 2.42)
Gallardo settled for a no-decision on Friday despite allowing one run on four hits in six innings against Texas. The 31-year-old owns a 1-1 mark with a 2.95 ERA in his last three outings, keeping the ball in the yard in each contest to boot. Gallardo has flustered Philadelphia in four career outings, winning all four decisions while posting a 3.08 ERA.
Eflin has worked seven innings without issuing a walk in each of his last three starts, but does not have a decision to show for it despite recording a 2.57 ERA in that stretch. The 23-year-old allowed three runs against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday but kept the ball in the park for the first time since his season debut. Eflin has yet to face Seattle in his young career and has just one start versus an American League club, getting shellacked for nine runs on as many hits with three homers in 2 2/3 innings of an 11-3 rout by Toronto on June 14, 2016.
WALK-OFFS
1. Philadelphia 3B Maikel Franco struck out three times and went 0-for-5 in the opener to extend his hitless stretch to 11 at-bats in the last three games.
2. Seattle SS Jean Segura is 17-for-37 with 11 runs scored during his eight-game hitting streak.
3. The teams were involved in a trade on Tuesday as the Phillies acquired veteran RHP Casey Fien from the Mariners for cash considerations.