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Mariners give spot start to Ramirez in finale with Rangers

Aug 27, 2014 - 2:27 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - With a playoff run in mind, the Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon is looking to keep his rotation strong down the stretch.

With that in mind, Erasmo Ramirez will make a spot start for the Mariners on Wednesday afternoon in the finale of a three-game series with the Texas Rangers.

Ramirez will be recalled for his sixth stint with Seattle this season, his latest designed to give the rest of the rotation some additional rest. Ramirez is 1-5 with a 4.06 earned run average in 13 starts with the Mariners this season, his latest coming on Aug. 10, and 5-5 with a 3.63 ERA in 14 starts with Triple-A Tacoma.

The 24-year-old righty has a 3.93 ERA without a decision in five lifetime meetings (3 starts) with the Rangers.

"He's probably our most experienced guy down there," McClendon told Seattle's website. "He's throwing the best down there. I think this is an opportunity he certainly earned."

The Mariners own a half-game lead over the Detroit Tigers for the second wild card spot in the American League and evened this series against the Rangers with a 5-0 victory on Tuesday.

Endy Chavez drove in a pair of runs, Robinson Cano homered and James Paxton and Danny Farquhar combined for a four-hit shutout. Paxton allowed four hits over 6 2/3 innings to earn the win, Seattle's fourth in five games.

"You could see him getting stronger as the game went on," said McClendon about Paxton. "I wanted to give him as much work as I could because he's not all the way back, but he's getting there."

Nick Martinez allowed all five runs on six hits with four walks in five innings for the Rangers, who had won their previous two coming in. Adrian Beltre had two hits in the loss.

"He just didn't command the baseball the way he had been earlier," Rangers manager Ron Washington said of Martinez.

Colby Lewis gets the call for the Rangers trying to avoid a fourth straight losing start.

The right-hander is coming off a 6-3 setback to Kansas City on Friday, when he was charged with four runs on six hits over six innings. Lewis also allowed two home runs for a second straight start.

"Early in the game he just couldn't get the ball down," Washington said about Lewis. "After that, he settled in and when he left the ballgame we were still in it."

Lewis, 35, has fallen to 8-11 with a 5.54 ERA on the year and sits 6-6 with a 3.90 ERA in 21 career meetings (17 starts) with Seattle.

The Rangers have won eight of 13 versus the Mariners this year.