Mariners Go for 5th Win in a Row

Jul 28, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma (18) smiles after a foul ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 28, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma (18) smiles after a foul ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /
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M’s send Kuma to the mound looking for 5th consecutive win.

The Seattle Mariners (11-9) will take on the Houston Astros (6-15) on Wednesday night at Safeco Field as they look for their first series sweep of the season. After yesterday’s lop-sided win, Hisashi Iwakuma (0-2, 3.81) will face off against Collin McHugh (1-3, 7.56) on the hill.

Walks have plagued Iwakuma early on this season, as he has issued 7 free passes over his first 26 innings of work. Other than that, he has pitched fairly well over his 4 starts, striking out 18 batters. In his last start against the Angels, filling in for Felix Hernandez who was ill, Iwakuma was stellar. He went 8 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits while walking 1 and striking out 3. Back home at Safeco, I expect Iwakuma to have another solid outing.

After allowing 6 runs in 0.1 innings in his first start, McHugh threw 7 shutout innings against the Royals on April 11. Since that second start, he has pitched 9.1 innings and allowed 9 runs on 20 hits. Given how the Mariners’ offense has been hitting, our lineup should be able to take advantage of McHugh and score some runs.

Here are tonight’s starting lineups as announced by M’s skipper Scott Servais and Astros manager A.J. Hinch:

Pick to Click

Many of the hitters in the M’s lineup have been swinging the bat very well. I am going to choose Adam Lind as my pick to click. Over his last 10 games Lind has gone 11-33, good for a .333 average. Not only is he heating up, but he is a career .292/.352/.505 against right handed pitching. I think Lind goes 2-4 with 2 RBI while slugging his first home run of the year into Edgar’s Cantina.

Final Score Prediction

I think the Mariners will come out hot after last night and put some runs up on McHugh while Iwakuma cruises to his first win of the year. The M’s are going to get the sweep in this one, winning 7-2 to remain in first place while improving to 12-9 on the season.

Next: Robinson Cano's Grand Slam, 6 RBI Fuel Mariners

You can watch tonight’s game locally on Root Sports Northwest, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices. Fans can also listen to the game live on 710 ESPN. And be sure to follow SoDo Mojo on twitter for live updates throughout the game, and check back after the final out has been recorded for a full recap. Go Mariners!