Seattle @ Texas preview
Choctaw Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2010 ) Texas 1, Seattle 2
The Texas Rangers finished their road trip with a flourish. They hope to continue that type of play for the next several weeks.
The Rangers try to extend their winning streak to four games on Monday when they host the Seattle Mariners in the opener of a three-game series at Rangers Ballpark.
After losing four of its first five of its 10-game road trip, Texas Won four of the final five, including Sunday's 16-9 triumph over Seattle.
Mitch Moreland hit a pair of home runs and drove in six runs while Jeff Francoeur and David Murphy each homered and collected four RBIs as the Rangers scored seven in the ninth and had a season-high 22 hits.
Texas, which clinched its first playoff berth in 11 years on Saturday, will attempt to improve to 12-5 against Seattle this season behind C.J. Wilson, who has struggled of late.
In his last four starts, Wilson has gone 0-2 with a 5.24 ERA, allowing 13 earned runs in 22 1/3 innings. The left-hander yielded just one run and three hits over six innings on Wednesday but did not figure in the decision of a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Wilson owns a 6-3 record and 4.70 ERA in 42 career games, including five starts, against the Mariners. In four outings vs. Seattle his year, he has surrendered nine runs in 25 innings en route to a 1-1 mark and 3.24 ERA.
Jose Lopez is hitting .476 (10-for-21) with three RBIs against Wilson.
In 17 starts at home in 2010, the 29-year-old Wilson has gone 10-2 with a 3.36 ERA.
The Mariners improved to 2-4 on their nine-game road trip with Sunday's 6-2 triumph at the Tampa Bay Rays. Jack Wilson hit a three-run homer, his second blast of the season and first since May 10, to help Seattle end a three-game losing streak.
Starting for Seattle, which has lost 16 of its 23 games this month, will be David Pauley. The right-hander snapped his personal four-game losing streak on Wednesday, yielding two runs and six hits in six innings of a 6-3 triumph at Toronto.
Pauley is 0-1 with a 9.39 ERA in three games, including one start, against the Rangers. His only appearance vs. Texas this season came on Aug. 4, when he came out of the bullpen and retired both batters he faced in an 11-6 loss.
The 27-year-old, who will be making his 14th start of the campaign, is 3-2 with a 4.75 ERA in eight games - six starts - on the road this year.
Seattle owns the worst road record in the American League at 24-54.