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Seattle Mariners

Mariners Pregame: Interleague interlude with Phillies, lineups and starters

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher James Paxton throws to a Detroit Tigers batter during the second inning on June 21, 2017, in Seattle. (Ted S. Warren / Associated Press)
By Dave Nichols daven@spokesman.com(509) 459-5441

Game 79: The Seattle Mariners (39-39) host the Philadelphia Phillies (24-51) in the first of a two-game series at 7:10 p.m. at Safeco Field.

The Mariners have lost two in a row, including an 8-2 decision on Sunday to the division-leading Houston Astros. The M’s are still 6-4 in their last 10 games and are 25-15 at home this season.

Seattle is 18-10 (.653) in their last 28 games since May 28, the second-best record in the American League, trailing only Los Angeles Dodgers (21-7, .750), Arizona (18-8, .692) and Houston (18-9, .667) for best record in MLB in that span.

The Phillies have lost three in a row and are 2-8 in their last 10 games. They trail the N.L. East leading Washington Nationals by 20 1/2 games and are 10-31 on the road – the worst road record in the Major Leagues.

The Mariners are 10-5 during Interleague play at Safeco Field, dating back to 2016. The M’s are 4-0-2 over their last six home Interleague series. Only the Boston Red Sox (6-0-1) have longer active streak with out dropping an Interleague series at home.

Seattle is 21-11 (.656) in its last 32 Interleague games since the start of the 2016 season. In that span, the .656 winning percentage is fourth-best in MLB behind Texas (23-9, .719), Boston (25-10, .714) and Baltimore (22-10, .688).

Lineups and starters

Courtesy @MarinersPR
Courtesy @MarinersPR

Starters: LHP James Paxton (5-2, 3.39) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (4-5, 4.32)

Mariners Notes

  • C Mike Zunino has 30 RBI this month, just the 11th time that a Mariners player has recorded 30-plus RBI in a calendar month. Mike Blowers and Edgar Martinez share the record with 33 in Aug. 1995.
  • Seattle has scored 170 runs in its last 28 games, an average of 6.07 runs per game in that span. During this stretch, Seattle is hitting .297 with 35 home runs, a .360 on-base mark and an .825 OPS.
  • OF Ben Gamel boasts a .346 average this season, which would be second in MLB if he had the plate appearances to qualify. Gamel has played in 54 games since being recalled on April 26 and has 234 plate appearances this season (eight short of qualifying).

This Day in Mariners History

In 1999, Mariners won final game in Kingdome, 5-2 over Texas.

In 2009, Felix Hernandez recorded his 700th career strikeout, against the Dodgers. At the age of 23 years, 80 days, he became the quickest to reach 700 Ks since Dwight Gooden in 1986.