Texas Rangers (52-41) at Seattle Mariners (43-49) Game 2 of 4 Preview (9:10 pm CT)

What a fantastic night last night for Derek Holland. The young lefty’s fourth career shutout. He has definitely gained momentum. You can read more about last night’s victory in Jonathan’s recap. As for me, I’m here for tonight’s game.

With the win last night, the Texas Rangers increased their season-high winning streak to eight games and will aim for nine tonight as they take on the Seattle Mariners for the second of four games at Safeco Field.

Pitching Matchups

RHP Doug Fister will start things off for the Mariners. Fister has gone 3-10 with a 3.09 ERA this year. He allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings last time out against the Angels. Despite having allowed only one run in three of his previous four games (one being a complete game and the other being two eight-inning games), his last win came on May 30. One good thing about Fister, though, is that he doesn’t allow many walks in his outings. In only one game of his previous 10 starts has he allowed more than two walks most of which were zero to one BB’s.

RHP Colby Lewis gets the start for the Rangers tonight. Lewis has gone 8-7 this year with a 4.38 ERA. Lewis has three wins and two no decisions in his past five starts. Last time out was a six-inning game in which he allowed five runs on five hits but was able to strike out nine batters. His previous start was three on five in seven innings. On June 22, he pitched seven scoreless innings against Houston. Against Seattle this year, Lewis has pitched eight innings allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out 11 batters and posting a 3.38 ERA. He has struggled this year so it would be nice to see him execute his pitches successfully and maintain his velocity.

Pitchers vs. Hitters

Doug Fister: Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre 4-for-8 with a combined of three RBIs. Michael Young is 3-for-10 and David Murphy is 5-for-13. Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton have all struggled going a combined 5-for-28.

RHP Colby Lewis: Aside from Justin Smoak who doesn’t have as much experience and is 3-for-4 with one homer and one RBI, Ichiro Suzuki has the best batting average against Lewis having gone 16-for-41 with three RBIs. Chone Figgins is 5-for-16, Adam Kennedy 3-for-12 as is Jack Wilson. In 10 at-bats, Miguel Olivo hasn’t safely hit against the Rangers’ lefty.