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Mariners try again to end losing streak

Jun 6, 2015 - 2:26 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Seattle Mariners try to bring an end to one of the longest skids in the majors on Saturday night as they host the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field.

The Mariners have lost seven in a row.

On Friday night the Rays and Mariners were locked in a defensive struggle that highlighted dominant pitching and weak hitting, until Tampa Bay's Logan Forsythe launched what proved to be the game-winning home run in the top of the ninth, leading to the 1-0 victory for the visitors.

For the Rays it was their fourth win in a row and kept them within a half-game game of the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East. Evan Longoria and Jake Elmore both had a pair of hits for the Rays, while reliever Andrew Bellatti grabbed his second win of the season and Kevin Jepsen nailed down his third save after surrendering a triple to Austin Jackson in the bottom of the ninth.

Unfortunately for the Mariners, now 9 1/2 games out of contention in the AL West, following the lead-off hit by Jackson, Brad Miller struck out, Mike Zunino fouled out and Dustin Ackley ended the threat by flying out to left.

"We put ourselves in position time and time again to score runs, we just didn't get it done," said Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon.

Like Tampa Bay, the Mariners also generated seven hits in the meeting, two of those coming from Nelson Cruz, but still the squad could not plate a single run.

Fernando Rodney was saddled with the loss, his third in five decisions, after surrendering the home run by Forsythe. Starter J.A. Happ permitted six hits and a walk, striking out six over seven innings.

After appearing in a total of just eight games during his first two major league seasons with Tampa Bay, right-hander Alex Colome is set to match that number when he heads to the hill to face Seattle on Saturday.

Colome will be shooting for just his second win since the first week of May, after coming up short against the Angels on Monday in a 7-3 loss on the road. In that outing the hurler scattered nine hits, three of those being home runs, resulting in five runs over six innings. He also walked three and struck out five in his third setback of 2015.

This will be just the second all-time appearance for Colome against Seattle, having given up two runs in 5 1/3 innings the first time around back on May 26 in Florida.

Now in his 11th season with the Mariners, Felix Hernandez is again putting together a masterful campaign, one that has him gunning for his ninth win this weekend. With opponents hitting just .205 against him, Hernandez is hoping to avoid his first set of back-to-back defeats when he starts for the home team.

The right-hander saw a two-game win streak come to an end on Monday when the New York Yankees knocked him around for seven runs on six hits and a season- high five walks. Hernandez lasted but 4 2/3 innings and watched his ERA jump from 1.91 to 2.63 in the process.

Historically, the fireballer has been very successful against the Rays, posting a 6-2 record with a 1.94 ERA in 14 appearances.

Seattle batters enter the weekend as the second-weakest hitting group in the AL, sporting an average of only .237, although Tampa Bay is only a few spots above at .242.