Texas @ Seattle preview
T-Mobile Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 18, 2010 ) Texas 6, Seattle 1
As Texas barrels toward its first division title since 1999, the Seattle Mariners are involved in a race themselves.
It should be close to see what happens first: Ichiro Suzuki reaches 200 hits or the Mariners lose 100 games.
Suzuki is seven away after getting two hits in Saturday’s 6-1 loss that put the Mariners (56-92) eight away from 100 losses. Seattle has lost 12 of 16 games in September.
The right fielder is trying to reach 200 hits for the 10th consecutive season, which would establish an American League record and tie Pete Rose for the major league mark. Suzuki also reached 3,500 pro hits with a first-inning single Saturday night, including 2,222 in the major leagues and 1,278 in Japan.
Texas (83-64) got eight innings of six-hit ball from former Mariner Cliff Lee to move 10 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics for the AL West lead with 15 games remaining.
Lee, who is expected to start the Rangers’ first playoff game, had eight strikeouts with one walk and said after the game he was amped to face the team that traded him July 9.
The Rangers reduced their magic number to six and will try to win the three-game series against the Mariners on Sunday afternoon.
Texas will start Tommy Hunter (12-3, 3.97 ERA) against Doug Fister (5-12, 3.95) in a matchup of right-handers.
The Rangers will go with the well-rested Hunter, who has had seven days off. Hunter has won both starts against the Mariners this season with a 1.46 ERA.
Hunter had a career-best eight strikeouts and allowed two runs in five innings of a 7-6 victory over the New York Yankees on Sept. 11.
In his last start Monday against the Boston Red Sox, Fister allowed five runs on six hits in 7 1/3 innings.
He is 0-1 with a 4.97 ERA in two starts against the Rangers this season. He has not beaten Texas in three career starts, posting a 6.23 ERA.
Rangers center fielder Nelson Cruz has a 10-game hitting streak and is batting .405 (17-for-42) with four homers and six RBIs.
The Mariners recalled first baseman Justin Smoak, who was the centerpiece of the Lee trade, from Triple-A Tacoma, which won the Pacific Coast League title. Smoak was 1-for-3 against Lee. Smoak hit .159 (10-for-63) with a pair of homers earlier this season with the Mariners.
Seattle also called up right-handed reliever Dan Cortes, who had a 5.23 ERA in the minors.