Seattle @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 30, 2013 ) Seattle 7, Houston 1

Dustin Ackley’s season was going so poorly that the Seattle Mariners demoted the No. 2 overall pick of the 2009 draft to the minors in late May. He returned a month later and now is performing like one of the top hitters in the major leagues as Seattle visits the Houston Astros on Saturday for the third contest of a four-game series. Ackley had a career-best four hits and tied a career high with four RBIs in Friday’s victory and is batting .411 this month.

Houston, which has lost four consecutive games, has suffered 90 defeats and needs to go 19-9 to avoid its third straight 100-loss campaign. All-Star Jason Castro's eight-game hitting streak came to an end Friday as he struck out three times in four hitless at-bats. The Mariners lost six straight games before back-to-back wins over Houston and possess a 9-5 edge in the season series.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), CSN (Houston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Joe Saunders (10-13, 5.09 ERA) vs. Astros LH Dallas Keuchel (5-7, 4.82)

Saunders has been hit hard over his last four starts, going 0-3 with an 8.31 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. He allowed seven runs and nine hits in seven frames of a loss to Texas in his last outing. Saunders is 2-1 with a 5.94 ERA in three starts against Houston this season.

Keuchel is coming off a strong outing against Toronto as he settled for a no-decision despite allowing just four hits over seven scoreless innings. He lost to Seattle on June 10 despite giving up only two runs (one earned) and seven hits in six innings. Keuchel is 3-4 with a 5.13 ERA in 15 home appearances (nine starts).

WALK-OFFS

1. The Mariners shipped OF Michael Morse to Baltimore for minor-league OF Xavier Avery.

2. Astros OF Brandon Barnes is 4-for-6 with a homer and a triple against Saunders.

3. Seattle OF Abraham Almonte made his major-league debut on Friday, collecting two RBIs while going 1-for-5.

PREDICTION: Mariners 9, Astros 8