By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Rays at Mariners
When/where: 10:10 tonight, Safeco Field, Seattle
TV/radio: Sun Sports; 620-AM, 680-AM (Spanish)
Starting pitchers
Rays: RH James Shields (5-3, 2.15)
Mariners: RH Felix Hernandez (5-4, 3.19)
Watch for ...
Shields stingy: Shields has nine straight quality starts, and his nine-start streak of seven or more innings is the majors' longest this season. He has a career 3-3 mark vs. Seattle, and his 2.80 ERA against the Mariners is his lowest against any AL team.
King Felix: The Rays can only hope Hernandez, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, is gassed after throwing a career high-tying 128-pitches in seven innings Saturday against the Yankees in a game the Mariners won in the 12th. Hernandez has been tough on the Rays with a lifetime 2-1 record and 2.42 ERA.
Key matchups:
Mariners vs. Shields
Chone Figgins 10-for-27
Adam Kennedy 3-for-14
Ichiro Suzuki 11-for-30, HR
Rays vs. Hernandez
Johnny Damon 9-for-16, HR
Evan Longoria 3-for-8
Ben Zobrist 2-for-12
On deck
Friday: vs. Mariners, 10:10, Sun Sports. Rays — Andy Sonnanstine (0-1, 4.39); Mariners — Jason Vargas (3-3, 4.50)
Saturday: vs. Mariners, 4:10, no TV. Rays — Jeremy Hellickson (6-3, 2.80); Mariners — Doug Fister (2-5, 3.18)
Sunday: vs. Mariners, 4:10, Sun Sports. Rays — Wade Davis (4-5, 4.52); Mariners — Erik Bedard (3-4, 3.48)
Rick Stroud, Times staff writer
All-Star update of the day
Despite missing 26 games and batting .240, 3B Evan Longoria leads all Rays in American League All-Star voting, though he's third at his position behind the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez (945,127) and the Rangers' Adrian Beltre (755,551). Matt Joyce, second in the AL with a .361 average, is not among the top 15 vote getters in the outfield. In fact, he trails teammates Sam Fuld (13th, 310,520) and B.J. Upton (15th, 277,173).
Wardrobe change of the day
The Rays embark on a four-city, 11-game, 12-day road trip totalling 7,208 miles. It also will feature three different themes. The Rays wore grunge attire, left, for their trip to Seattle and will wear Beach Boys beach attire to Los Angeles and pajamas for the late night flight to Baltimore.
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