M’s Host Tigers
Seattle starter Carlos Silva would like to reverse his fortunes from earlier this season against Detroit.
He’ll be trying to build on his first win in more than two months when the Mariners open a four-game series with the Tigers Thursday at Safeco Field.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Detroit -135 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 54% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit -135 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Silva (4-9, 5.69 ERA) has dropped both of his starts against Detroit this season, allowing seven runs in four innings in a 12-8 loss on May 20 and recording just two outs while allowing seven runs 10 days later in the shortest start of his career – a 7-4 defeat.
Tigers third baseman Carlos Guillen was 2-for-3 against Silva in those games, improving his average to .531 (17-for-32) with 13 RBIs against the right-hander.
In 14 career appearances – 13 starts – against the Tigers (42-42), Silva is 5-5 with a 5.78 ERA.
Making the task even more daunting is Seattle’s recent performance against the Tigers, who have won eight of the last 10 meetings. The Mariners (33-51) dropped two of three at home May 30-June 1 after getting swept in three games in Detroit May 20-22 in the first meetings between the teams this season.
Silva is coming off his first win in 13 starts, Saturday’s 4-2 victory in San Diego in which he yielded two runs in seven innings. He had dropped a career-worst nine decisions since his last win on April 17 in Oakland, the longest losing streak in the majors this season.
"I haven’t won in over two months already, so I was waiting for this kind of game, especially for me, I want to get in the group, too," he said. "We’ve been playing good lately and you want to be part of the team, too."
Silva, who won three of his first four starts, had lost seven straight outings before beating the Padres.
"I think it was important for him," manager Jim Riggleman said. "A lot of losses, some tough ones, but he knew he was better than that, and hopefully this will be the beginning of something good for him."
The Tigers had won six straight before dropping the final two games of their three-game set in Minnesota, including Wednesday’s 7-0 loss. The shutout was Detroit’s 10th of the season, the most in the majors.
"We didn’t swing the bats worth anything," manager Jim Leyland said.
First baseman Miguel Cabrera, batting .280 with 11 homers, missed his second straight start because of an injured left hip flexor muscle, but Leyland expects him to play in the series opener.
Starter Justin Verlander (4-9, 4.42) has endured a disappointing season like Silva, but he is 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA over his last four starts. He gave up two runs in 5 2-3 innings without getting a decision in the Tigers’ 7-6 win over Colorado on Saturday.
Verlander is 5-1 with a 2.90 ERA in six career starts against the Mariners. However, the loss came in his last start against them, when he yielded four runs in seven innings of a 5-0 defeat in Seattle on May 31.
Seattle owns the worst record in the AL, but has won seven of nine. The Mariners took two of three from Toronto, including Wednesday’s 4-2 win.
Miguel Cairo drove in three runs and Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-3 to improve his average to .301 – the first time he has been above .300 since April 9.
"For me, .297 was a kind of wall so far," said Ichiro, who is 9-for-23 (.391) against Detroit this year. "After I passed that, I thought .300 is the next (wall to pass)."
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