Mariners at Red Sox
The Seattle Mariners knew their mettle was going to be tested 1 1/2 weeks ago when they were about to begin a stretch of 10 games against two of the best teams in baseball. Although three wins in their first nine contests were not what they had in mind, the Mariners still can make a statement on Sunday as they attempt to take the season series against the host Boston Red Sox with a win in the rubber match of their three-game series.
Seattle moved 21 games over .500 for the first time since 2003 following last Saturday's 1-0 win over Boston but lost the next day to split the four-game series and begin a five-game slide. Two of the five losses came after the Mariners blew five-run leads, but they weren't about to let another fast start go for naught on Saturday as Mike Leake worked eight scoreless frames to lead his team to a 7-2 victory. Boston (51-27) was unable to find the offense that scored 23 runs over its previous two contests and instead remained one game behind the American League East-rival New York Yankees for the best record in the majors. The absences of Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts did not help the Red Sox's cause as the former was "under the weather," according to manager Alex Cora, while the latter sat out after spraining his left index finger on Friday.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), NESN (Boston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Marco Gonzales (7-4, 3.80 ERA) vs. Red Sox LH Chris Sale (6-4, 2.74)
Gonzales' four-game winning streak came to an end with his worst performance of the season Tuesday in New York as he surrendered six runs and eight hits - three homers - over 6 1/3 innings in a loss to the Yankees. The poor effort ended a stretch of six starts during which the Gonzaga product permitted a total of six earned runs and one homer over 38 1/3 frames. Gonzales has given up eight of his nine homers on the road this season as he faces Boston for the first time in his career.
Sale allowed fewer than three earned runs for the 11th time in 16 starts Tuesday in Minnesota, but he settled for a no-decision despite yielding two runs and three hits while fanning 11 in seven frames. The six-time All-Star recorded at least 10 strikeouts for the fifth time the season and is holding opponents to a .188 average - his lowest since becoming a full-time starter in 2012. Nelson Cruz is 8-for-26 with two homers versus Sale, who is 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA in 10 career games (eight starts) against Seattle.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cruz is 7-for-9 with two homers and seven RBIs in this series and has recorded at least three hits in consecutive games for the first time since 2014.
2. Bogaerts and Betts tentatively are expected to play on Sunday.
3. Seattle SS Jean Segura missed his third straight game on Saturday with an arm infection but is hopeful he can play in the finale.