Mariners at Blue Jays
The Seattle Mariners' high-octane offense is masking some of the troubles of a starting pitching staff that is decimated by injury. Seattle has erupted for 53 runs en route to winning six of its last seven contests heading into Thursday's opener of a four-game series against the host Toronto Blue Jays.
Seven-time All-Star Robinson Cano has overcame a sluggish start to the season by batting .349 with seven homers, 20 RBIs and 17 runs scored in his last 21 games, highlighted by a four-hit performance in Wednesday's 11-6 victory over Philadelphia. The Mariners collected 21 runs and 32 hits in the two-game interleague sweep of the Phillies to push their winning streak to four games and even their record for the first time since Opening Day. Toronto slowly is turning around its fortunes with back-to-back series victories for the first time this season and wins in seven of its last 11 contests overall. Ryan Goins had a walk-off single in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 8-7 triumph over Cleveland to cap a three-hit performance, matching his total of his previous seven games.
TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), Sportsnet (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Chase De Jong (0-2, 6.75 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Marco Estrada (1-2, 3.14)
De Jong will move up a day in the rotation to make the start as fellow right-hander Hisaski Iwakuma (right shoulder inflammation) joined Felix Hernandez (shoulder), Drew Smyly (flexor tendon) and James Paxton (forearm strain) on the 10-day disabled list. The 23-year-old rookie settled for a hard-luck no-decision versus Texas on Saturday after allowing a solo homer among four hits over six innings while making his second start in place of Hernandez. De Jong did not walk a batter in an outing for the first time this season and struck out a campaign-best three in the contest.
Estrada put up a clunker against Tampa Bay on Saturday on the heels of four stellar starts in which he permitted just three runs and 20 hits over 26 innings. The 33-year-old yielded homers to Logan Morrison and Colby Rasmus en route to matching a season high with five runs allowed in a 6-1 setback to the Rays. Estrada has struggled with Seattle to the tune of a 1-3 career mark and a 4.13 ERA, with Nelson Cruz going 5-for-10 with one solo homer against him.
WALK-OFFS
1. Toronto 3B Darwin Barney is riding a four-game hitting streak on the heels of a 2-for-12 stretch.
2. Seattle rookie RF Ben Gamel, who is batting .373 in 13 contests since being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma, reached base in nine of his 12 plate appearances versus Philadelphia and scored five times.
3. Blue Jays RF Jose Bautista belted a three-run homer on Wednesday for his second hit in as many days after an 0-for-16 stretch in his previous four games.