Seattle @ Texas preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 12, 2016 ) Texas 6, Seattle 4

The Texas Rangers affirmed their status as the top team in the American League with just over a month left in the regular season by taking three of four at home over the weekend from their closest challenger. The Rangers continue what well may be a season-defining 10-game homestand on Monday, when they open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners.

Texas held Cleveland to a total of one run in its three victories over the AL Central leader, maintaining its 2 1/2-game advantage over Toronto for the best record in the AL while sending the Indians tumbling one-half game behind the Blue Jays in the same race. After the Rangers complete this series with one of the two teams against which they hold an 8 1/2-game lead in the West, they will face the other as Houston visits Globe Life Park on Friday. The Mariners have dropped five of six to fall three games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild-card spot, and they likely will need a good showing in this series if they want to maintain realistic hopes of visiting the postseason for the first time since 2001. Seattle would like nothing more than to ride the bat of Kyle Seager, who is a career .339 hitter with eight home runs and 32 RBIs over 49 games in Arlington.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ESPN, ROOT (Seattle), FSN Southwest (Texas)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Hisashi Iwakuma (14-9, 3.81 ERA) vs. Rangers RH Yu Darvish (4-3, 2.91)
Iwakuma has factored into the decision in each of his last 18 turns (13-5, 3.56 ERA), although he lost consecutive outings for the first time during that streak after surrendering three runs over six innings Wednesday versus the New York Yankees. Despite his recent struggles, the 35-year-old is 5-3 with a 2.77 ERA in eight turns since the All-Star break. Iwakuma defeated Texas by allowing three runs over seven frames for his only win in four tries this season to improve to 9-5 with a 3.38 ERA against the Rangers in 18 career games (17 starts).
Darvish struggled with his command throughout six innings of work at Cincinnati on Wednesday, but he managed to escape with a no-decision despite permitting five runs - three earned - on four hits and a season-high five walks. The poor outing was a rare one for the three-time All-Star, who had recorded 48 strikeouts versus only four walks over his previous six turns. Darvish is 4-0 with a 2.80 ERA in eight home starts this season but only 1-2 despite posting a 3.14 ERA in four career turns versus the Mariners.

WALK-OFFS
1. The matchup between Darvish and Iwakuma will mark only the 14th time in major-league history two Japanese-born pitchers will square off. Incidentally, Iwakuma faced the New York Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka on Wednesday.
2. Seattle 2B Robinson Cano needs one double to become only the fourth major-leaguer to hit 30 in 12 consecutive seasons at any point of their careers. He is the only player ever to do so in each of his first 11 campaigns.
3. Rangers OF Carlos Gomez is hitless in 14 at-bats since belting a three-run homer in his first at-bat with Texas on Thursday.

PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Mariners 3