Seattle @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 16, 2013 ) Seattle 2, Detroit 4

While 19-game winner Max Scherzer has gotten much of the attention, teammate Anibal Sanchez is closing fast in the American League Cy Young Award race. Sanchez tries for his eighth straight victory when the Detroit Tigers host the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday in the second contest of a four-game series. The Venezuelan hasn't allowed a run in 13 2/3 innings while leading the AL with a 2.50 ERA and helping Detroit hold off pesky Cleveland in the AL Central.

The Tigers lead the Indians by six games following their 4-2 victory over the Mariners on Monday and Cleveland's 7-1 loss at Kansas City. "I think as a ballclub, we're really coming on strong here," said Rick Porcello, who struck out 10 in six innings to earn his 13th victory. Seattle rookie Brandon Maurer was hit hard in his return to the rotation in his last outing and will try to help the Mariners stop a stretch during which they've lost seven of eight games.

TV: 7:08 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), FSN (Detroit)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Brandon Maurer (4-8, 7.18 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Anibal Sanchez (14-7, 2.50)

Maurer is 2-8 with a 7.39 ERA in 11 starts following a 6-1 loss to Houston on Wednesday, when he yielded five runs and seven hits in three innings. The 23-year-old Newport Beach, Calif., native made eight consecutive relief appearances and went 2-0 with a 6.64 ERA prior to Wednesday. Maurer has yielded 99 hits over his first 72 2/3 major-league frames while recording a 1.68 ERA and .329 batting average against.

Sanchez struck out 10 while allowing five hits in 7 1/3 scoreless innings of a 1-0 victory over the White Sox in Chicago on Wednesday. The 29-year-old has permitted two runs or fewer in nine of his 11 starts since the All-Star break and is 7-1 with a 1.95 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and .215 batting average against during that span. Sanchez is 8-2 with a 2.41 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and .205 batting average against in 12 home starts and hasn't lost in Detroit since July 11 - his last outing before the break.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Mariners are 30-30 at Comerica Park.

2. Detroit is 15-16 against the AL West and 72-47 versus everyone else.

3. Seattle's Raul Ibanez is one of eight active players to homer in Tiger Stadium - which closed after the 1999 season - and Comerica Park. The others are Eric Chavez, Jason Giambi, Torii Hunter, Derek Jeter, Paul Konerko, Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada.

PREDICTION: Tigers 3, Mariners 2