Mon Jul 30 16:01:18 2007

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Angels, Mariners begin AL West showdown at Safeco

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(Sports Network) - The top two teams in the American League West begin a three-game showdown tonight at Seattle's Safeco Field, where the Mariners will attempt to gain ground on the division-leading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Both teams appeared to have turned themselves around from recent slides. The Angels have won four consecutive games after going through a stretch of seven losses in nine contests. Seattle had endured a season-long seven-game losing streak before taking three in a row from division-rival Oakland over the weekend.

The Angels are fresh off an impressive three-game home sweep of AL Central leader Detroit in which they outscored the Tigers by a lopsided 34-13 margin. In Sunday's finale, Chone Figgins went 3-for-5 with three runs scored to lead a 13-hit attack as Anaheim rolled to a 13-4 victory.

Gary Matthews drove in three runs while Casey Kotchman and Garret Anderson each finished with two RBI for the Angels, who enter this key series with a four-game advantage on the second-place Mariners.

Dustin Moseley, starting in place of the injured Bartolo Colon, worked the first 4 2/3 innings for Los Angeles and allowed four runs on five hits. Chris Bootcheck (3-2) then held Detroit scoreless over the next 2 1/3 frames to pick up the win.

Seattle also put up a wealth of runs in Sunday's 14-10 triumph over the Athletics. The Mariners scored four times in the bottom of the eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Jose Guillen, to break a 10-10 tie.

Adrian Beltre homered and compiled four RBI for Seattle, while Ben Broussard went 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBI after replacing Richie Sexson, who was ejected in the sixth inning for arguing with first base umpire Mark Carlson.

Ichiro Suzuki singled in the second inning for his 1,500th career hit, becoming the third-fastest player in major-league history to accomplish the feat. The Mariners star ended 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.

Sean Green (4-1) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Jarrod Washburn started for Seattle and pitched five innings, allowing five runs -- three earned -- on five hits while striking out two and walking three.

A pair of double-digit winners will take the mound in tonight's opener, with the Angels set to send out Kelvim Escobar and the Mariners handing the ball to Miguel Batista.

Escobar owns an outstanding 11-4 record and ranks third in the AL with a 2.91 earned run average so far this season. The hard-throwing righty had won five consecutive decisions before suffering a tough-luck loss last Tuesday to Oakland. Escobar held the A's to three runs and nine hits in seven innings.

The native Venezuelan is 5-1 with a 4.22 ERA on the road in 2007, but that one setback came at Safeco Field on May 15. Escobar was rocked for eight runs (six earned) on eight hits and lasted a season-low 2 1/3 innings in that matchup.

For his career Escobar is 5-8 with a 5.05 ERA and three saves in 28 lifetime games (15 starts) against Seattle.

Batista looks to rebound after a rough performance in Texas last Wednesday. The veteran righty gave up five runs and eight hits over six innings against the Rangers, although he wound up with a no decision in a 7-6 Seattle loss.

Prior to that outing, Batista went 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA over his last four starts.

The 36-year-old is 3-3 with a 6.75 ERA in 10 career games, including five starts, against the Angels. Batista has faced Anaheim twice already this season and recorded a win and a loss while allowing 10 runs over 11 1/3 total innings.

The Angels have won seven of nine matchups against Seattle so far this season and are 15-4 in the last 19 games played in this series. Los Angeles took two of three games at Safeco Field back in May.