Mariners at Astros
The red-hot Seattle Mariners aim for their sixth consecutive victory when they conclude their two-game series with the host Houston Astros on Wednesday. Seattle rolled to a 7-1 victory in Tuesday's opener to increase its lead over Houston in the American League West to two games.
Kyle Seager, Jean Segura and Mike Zunino all homered in the opener as the Mariners moved 16 games over .500 for the first time since the 130th game of the 2007 season. Nelson Cruz continued his surge by going 2-for-4 and is 13-for-31 with two homers and eight RBIs over his last eight contests. The Astros, who have lost three straight, had their streak of 12 consecutive games with at least one homer snapped as seven of their nine hits in the series opener were singles. Lance McCullers Jr. traditionally has fared well against Seattle and matched his career best of 11 strikeouts while beating the Mariners on April 17, when he allowed just one hit - a first-inning homer by Robinson Cano.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Wade LeBlanc (1-0, 2.60 ERA) vs. Astros RH Lance McCullers Jr. (7-3, 3.89)
LeBlanc picked up his first win in six starts this season when he allowed one run and four hits over five innings against Texas in his last turn. The 33-year-old has posted a 1.72 ERA as a starter and allowed four hits or fewer five times but typically doesn't pitch deep into games. LeBlanc owns a 5.00 ERA in six career appearances (two starts) against the Astros and has struggled with Jose Altuve (4-for-6).
McCullers defeated Boston in his last turn as he gave up two runs and four hits over six innings. The 24-year-old served up three homers in his previous outing, when he was torched by Cleveland for seven runs in 4 1/3 frames. McCullers is 6-2 with a 2.75 ERA in 10 career starts against the Mariners and has silenced Cruz (3-for-20, 10 strikeouts) and Segura (3-for-18) but has issues retiring Seager (8-for-24, homer).
WALK-OFFS
1. Astros LF Marwin Gonzalez fell a home run shy of the cycle in the series opener.
2. Tuesday's victory was the Mariners' second in their last 11 contests against the Astros.
3. Houston RF Josh Reddick (knee infection) played a rehab game at Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday and could rejoin the Astros for the series finale.