Seattle @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 3, 2014 ) Seattle 7, Atlanta 5

The Atlanta Braves find themselves in the midst of playing 12 of 14 games away from home, and those two home contests are condensed into a 24-hour span. The Braves host the Seattle Mariners in the finale of a brief two-game series on Wednesday afternoon, hours after the Mariners’ 7-5 victory in Tuesday’s series opener. But the Braves won’t find any sympathy from the Mariners, who flew from Seattle to New York for a make-up game against the Yankees on Monday and play a four-game set at Tampa Bay this weekend before another cross-country flight home.

The extra miles have not bothered the Mariners, who have won four in a row and scored 24 runs during the streak, including 17 in the past two games. Second baseman Robinson Cano is 4-for-8 in two games after not playing in the previous four contests due to a hand bruise, collecting three hits in Tuesday’s victory. The Braves struck out 13 times in the series opener, the third time in the past seven games Atlanta has reached double-digits in strikeouts.

TV: 12:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, Root (Seattle), SportSouth (Atlanta)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Hisashi Iwakuma (3-2, 3.09 ERA) vs. Braves LH Mike Minor (2-3, 3.41)

Iwakuma won 14 games and made the American League All-Star team last season, but a torn tendon in his right middle finger delayed his 2014 debut until May. He won three of his first four starts but has dropped his past two, allowing nine runs in 13 innings while losing to Houston and Detroit. Left-handed hitters are batting .289 off Iwakuma, who is 2-0 in two road starts.

Like Iwakuma, Minor did not make his first start until May due to shoulder discomfort. He lost his first two starts, then won two in a row with two runs allowed in 13 1/3 innings before losing to the Rockies on May 24. Minor pitched well in his last start, getting a no-decision Thursday in Boston despite allowing one run on seven hits with no walks in seven innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Atlanta C Evan Gattis has hit four homers in his past six games.

2. Seattle C John Buck, who hit the go-ahead homer for the Mariners Tuesday, has seven career long balls in 39 games against the Braves.

3. The Mariners have posted 36 hits in their past three games (11 on Sunday against Detroit, 12 on Monday against New York and 13 on Tuesday against Atlanta).

PREDICTION: Braves 4, Mariners 2