Friday MLB: Texas Rangers (47-37) at Seattle Mariners (44-41)
Is anyone paying attention to the Seattle Mariners? Thursday’s series-opening 3-1 win over Texas moved the M’s to just 3 ½ games behind the Rangers in the AL West.
The hero Thursday was Franklin Gutierrez, who hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning. He has been one of the Mariners’ hottest hitters, getting at least one hit in 20 of his past 22 games, going 23-for-48 to raise his batting average from .251 to .297. Seven of the hits have been home runs.
Ichiro had three hits on Thursday and now has 38 multihit games, which leads the majors.
Meanwhile, Texas has a sudden outfield glut, one that is costing Nelson Cruz some playing time.
Cruz has started 75 of the Texas Rangers’ 84 games this season, but the right fielder was out of the lineup for the third night in a row Thursday.
Cruz is tied for fifth in the American League with 20 homers, but Manager Ron Washington went with Josh Hamilton, Marlon Byrd and David Murphy as the three outfielders, and Andruw Jones was the designated hitter.
Jones is the guy making it hard for Washington to find playing time for all five guys, as he came off a three-homer game Wednesday.
“It’s not that vicious, where I’m sitting Nelson Cruz,” Washington said. “It’s just that those guys out there did such a great job, how can you pull them off the field?”
Texas starts Scott Feldman (7-2, 3.91) tonight. He has been a revelation since moving into the rotation.
He has held opponents to a .217 average (65-for-299) and pitched at least five innings in all 14 of his starts this season. He has a 2.30 ERA in 12 games (three starts) spanning 27 1/3 innings against the Mariners in his career.
Texas is a -117 money line favorite on WagerWeb.com, probably because it is 9-1 in its past 10 Friday games.
Seattle counters with Brendan Morrow (0-3, 5.05). He has a 3.97 ERA since entering the rotation and is 1-3 against Texas in 12 relief appearances with a 3.95 ERA.
The Mariners have won just two of the past eight meetings in Seattle with Texas.
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