Mariners at Twins
The suddenly potent Seattle Mariners seek their 13th victory in 18 games when they conclude a four-game series against the host Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon. Seattle racked up 27 runs while winning two of the first three games of the set and has scored five or more in 11 of its last 12 victories.
Rookie Ben Gamel is 8-for-14 with six runs scored in the series while Mike Zunino is 6-for-13 with two homers, including a three-run shot in Wednesday's 6-4 victory. Robinson Cano has gone 5-for-10 over his last two games to raise his average 10 points to .291, and he has recorded five multi-hit performances for the Mariners this month. The Twins also have scored 27 runs in the series, but 20 of them came in Tuesday's victory as they recorded a franchise-record 28 hits. Miguel Sano went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer on Wednesday after a night of rest and is tied for third in the American League with 48 RBIs.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, ROOT (Seattle), FSN North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Ariel Miranda (6-2, 3.67 ERA) vs. Twins RH Jose Berrios (5-1, 2.84)
Miranda has won five consecutive decisions and allowed just nine earned runs over his last six starts. The 28-year-old did not factor in the decision against Toronto in his last turn, when he gave up two runs and two hits over 6 1/3 innings. Miranda lost his lone career start against the Twins last season as he gave up three runs and three hits in four innings while serving up homers to Jorge Polanco and Sano.
Berrios has won back-to-back starts and given up fewer than three runs in four of his six turns this year. The 23-year-old struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings while defeating San Francisco in his last outing, when he yielded two runs and six hits. Berrios is just 1-6 with a 7.43 ERA in eight career starts at Target Field, with the victory coming this season when he struck out a career-best 11 and allowed two hits in 7 2/3 scoreless frames against Colorado.
WALK-OFFS
1. Seattle DH Nelson Cruz was hitless in four at-bats Wednesday after three straight two-hit efforts.
2. Minnesota 2B Brian Dozier went 0-for-5 on Wednesday to halt his eight-game hitting streak.
3. Zunino has gone deep twice in the series and is 9-for-23 with four blasts and nine RBIs in six games against the Twins this season.