Mariners at Angels
The Seattle Mariners are 20 games over .500 but find themselves in a fight to hold off the hard-charging Oakland Ahtletics for the second wild card in the American League. The Mariners will be seeking to post back-to-back wins for the first time since the first two games of the month when they open a three-game series at the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
After closing the first half by dropping seven of nine games, Seattle completed a 3-2 homestand with a 3-2 win over San Francisco on Wednesday, which marked the 11th time in 14 games it has failed to score more than three runs. "You go through these stretches during the course of the season. It's tough," Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters. "It's not like these guys aren't trying or trying to make adjustments or whatnot. It's just the ballgames we're playing in right now. We've got to get it going offensively." The Angels had it going offensively in their last two games, scoring 23 runs to salvage a four-game split against the Chicago White Sox. Career minor-leaguer Francisco Arcia was promoted from the minors after catcher Martin Maldonado was traded to Houston and responded by becoming the first player in team history to collect four RBIs in his major-league debut in Thursday's 12-8 victory.
TV: 10:07 p.m. ET, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), FS West (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Wade LeBlanc (6-1, 3.44 ERA) vs. Angels LH Andrew Heaney (6-6, 3.66 ERA)
LeBlanc rebounded from his lone defeat with a magnificent outing versus the Chicago White Sox on July 20, striking out a season-high 10 and permitting one run on four hits over 7 1/3 innings. The 33-year-old veteran has won both his starts -- each at home -- versus the Angels this season, allowing a combined three runs and seven hits over 12 innings. Andrelton Simmons is 4-for-8 with a home run against LeBlanc.
Heaney registered his fourth consecutive quality start last time out, limiting defending World Series champion Houston to one run and four hits over six innings. He was a hard-luck loser against LeBlanc in Seattle on July 3, allowing two earned runs and matching his season high with 10 strikeouts. Kyle Seager is 6-for-12 against Heaney, who was tagged for five runs in a season-low three innings at Seattle on June 11.
WALK-OFFS
1. Angels 1B Albert Pujols collected his 3,060th career hit Thursday to tie Craig Biggio for 24th on the all-time list.
2. Mariners SS Jean Segura is riding a nine-game hitting streak.
3. Angels INF David Fletcher is 12-for-24 during a six-game hitting streak.