Seattle @ Kansas City preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 20, 2014 ) Seattle 7, Kansas City 5

The Kansas City Royals rank last in the majors in home runs so there is cause for optimism when slugger Mike Moustakas shows signs of developing a consistent power stroke. Moustakas went deep in Friday's series-opening loss to the Seattle Mariners, his fourth blast in 10 games following a 29-game drought without a homer. Kansas City had dropped two in a row after a 10-game winning streak and looks to get back on track in Saturday's middle game versus Seattle.

The Mariners are in the bottom quarter of the league in homers, but overcame a rare poor performance by a starting pitcher by relying on the long ball in Friday's 7-5 win. Logan Morrison, who hit 23 homers for Miami in 2011, connected for only the second time in 18 games and has his first three-game hitting streak. Second baseman Robinson Cano has hit safely in his last five games and carries a 21-game road hitting streak into Saturday's matchup.

TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports (Seattle), FSN Kansas City

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Chris Young (6-4, 3.40 ERA) vs. Royals LH Jason Vargas (7-2, 3.25)

Young is coming off a strong outing against light-hitting San Diego, tossing six scoreless innings of four-hit ball. He matched his season high with six strikeouts and walked only one, reversing a disturbing trend that has seen him fan 41 and issue 33 bases on balls in 79 1/3 innings. Young turned in a masterful performance to beat Kansas City on May 10, allowing one run on three hits in eight innings.

Vargas won his second straight start by holding Detroit to two runs over seven innings last time out, giving him a 3-0 mark over his last five turns. Vargas has permitted a total of nine runs in that span and has pitched as least seven innings in each of his last three starts. The 31-year-old blanked Seattle on three hits over seven innings May 9 to improve to 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA in four starts versus the Mariners.

WALK-OFFS

1. Royals DH Billy Butler has seven multi-hit games during a 10-game hitting streak.

2. Mariners CF James Jones is 19-for-55 in his last 13 games, raising his batting average 25 points to .294.

3. Royals closer Greg Holland had a string of 16 straight scoreless appearances snapped in Friday's loss.

PREDICTION: Royals 5, Mariners 2