Seattle @ Texas preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 30, 2016 ) Seattle 7, Texas 8

Robinson Cano has recorded three straight multi-hit performances and seven in his last nine contests to finish August with a flourish. The 33-year-old Dominican looks to continue his good fortune at the plate on Wednesday afternoon as the visiting Seattle Mariners attempt to salvage the finale of a three-game series versus the American League West-leading Texas Rangers.

Cano recorded two hits on Tuesday to improve his batting average to .316 this month before Rougned Odor doused cold water on the party by belting a two-run homer in the ninth inning to send Texas to an 8-7 victory. The Rangers, who have claimed the first two contests of 25 straight games versus division representatives, have won four in a row overall and nine of 11 versus the Mariners. Seattle is trending in the other direction with setbacks in four straight to fall to 1-5 on its seven-game road trip to reside four games behind Baltimore for the second wild card. Felix Hernandez will look to stop the bleeding on Wednesday and attempt to subdue veteran Carlos Beltran, who has turned the corner from a woeful 0-for-32 stretch with six hits in his last three contests and is 5-for-9 in his career versus the former AL Cy Young Award winner.

TV: 2:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), FSN Southwest (Texas)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Felix Hernandez (9-4, 3.14 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Martin Perez (8-10, 4.45)

Hernandez won his third straight start and improved to 5-0 in his last seven outings after allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings of a 3-1 triumph at the Chicago White Sox. The 30-year-old Venezuelan had little difficulty with the White Sox in that outing, but did issue five walks over six frames in a 3-2 setback to Texas on Opening Day to fall to 17-22 in his career versus the Rangers. Odor played the hero with his first career walk-off homer on Tuesday, but is just 2-for-19 with eight strikeouts in his career against Hernandez.

Perez has seen the bottom fall out of late, permitting six runs for the second straight outing in a 12-1 rout by Cleveland on Friday. The performance marked the sixth time in 10 outings that the 25-year-old Venezuelan has yielded five or more runs. Perez, who is 7-2 at home this season, allowed two runs in six innings in a no-decision against Seattle on April 5 before yielding three runs in six frames of a 10-4 victory two months later.

WALK-OFFS

1. Texas C Jonathan Lucroy 8-for-15 with three RBIs during his five-game hitting streak.

2. Seattle SS Ketel Marte is 3-for-9 in the series and has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 contests.

3. The Rangers haven't allowed a home run in eight straight games, tying Miami for the longest stretch this season.

PREDICTION: Mariners 3, Rangers 2