Twins-Mariners Preview By KEVIN CHROUST STATS Writer
Wade Miley's time with the Seattle Mariners got off to a terrible start in his first three outings, and while his latest start wasn't ideal, it was another win as his season continues to trend in the right direction. The left-hander catches another assignment that could have some wiggle room Saturday night against the visiting Minnesota Twins, whose win in the series opener has them in position for just their second series win of the month. Miley (5-2, 4.50 ERA) went 0-2 with an 8.04 ERA in his first three starts with the Mariners. Since, he's 5-0 with a 3.12 mark, and the latest decision came in a 5-4 win in Cincinnati on Sunday. He gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings but again got some strong run support. His 8.26 RSA would rank third behind Jake Arrieta and David Price if Miley had completed enough innings to qualify. Three of the runs he allowed against the Reds came in the first inning before he settled in. "Wade Miley hung in there," manager Scott Servais told MLB's official website. "It was kind of rough in the first inning. He kind of forgets who exactly he is. He's got to pitch. He's got to go back and forth. He got a lot of fastballs in the first inning, but he made adjustments. He got us through six, and our bullpen was outstanding." He's up against Phil Hughes, whose season is already two losses shy of matching his 2015 total. Hughes (1-7, 5.55) gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings of Sunday's 3-1 home loss to Toronto to fall to 0-5 with a 6.23 ERA since his only win of the year on April 18. The right-hander has given up five home runs in his last three games, and both he served up to the Blue Jays came in a three-run first inning. "The first inning was rough, but I felt like I settled in OK," Hughes said. "But when you give up three runs, it's a tall task for our guys to dig out of the hole. (Marcus) Stroman was on his game today, and we couldn't come back from that." Hughes has plenty of success in Seattle to fall back on, going 5-1 with a 0.96 ERA in five starts and two relief appearances. Franklin Gutierrez (4 for 11) and Seth Smith (6 for 17) have homered against him. The Twins (13-34) opened the series with Friday's 7-2 win. Joe Mauer went 2 for 4 with a home run and is 8 for 17 with two homers in his last four games. Miguel Sano was also 2 for 4 with a home run and has gone deep in consecutive games. The Twins haven't lost a series in Seattle since 2012, going 8-4 since. The Mariners (28-19) have still won seven of their last 10 while averaging 5.7 runs per game. Robinson Cano tripled Friday and is 5 for 13 in the last three games with four of those hits going for extra bases ' two homers, a triple and a double. |