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Mariners-Tigers Preview

Jul 23, 2009 - 5:36 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Seattle (50-44) at Detroit (49-43), 1:05 p.m. EDT

Seattle Mariners left-hander Jarrod Washburn is on the verge of his longest win streak in more than five years.

It's been just as long since he's beaten the Detroit Tigers.

While attempting to win his fourth straight start overall, Washburn will also try to break a personal string of seven consecutive losses to the Tigers in Thursday's three-game series finale.

After a stretch in which he recorded just one victory over 12 starts, Washburn (7-6, 2.87 ERA) has won three in a row by allowing only two runs in 23 2-3 innings despite battling a balky left knee. The left-hander opened this season by winning three straight starts, but hasn't won four in a row since a six-game win streak April 17-May 15, 2004, while with the Anaheim Angels - a run which included an 11-4 win over the Tigers on May 4, 2004.

Washburn gave up one run while scattering eight singles over 6 2-3 innings Saturday night at Cleveland in a 3-1 victory.

"We don't give him enough credit," Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu told his team's official Web site. "He's been out there every fifth day, even though his (knee) has been bothering him. That's the sign of a championship pitcher."

Washburn has not beaten Detroit since the win in 2004, going 0-7 with a 7.38 ERA in seven starts. That seven-game losing streak is tied for the longest active one by a pitcher against one opponent. CC Sabathia has lost seven in a row to his current team, the New York Yankees.

In his lone start last season against the Tigers on May 21, Washburn was shelled for nine runs and 12 hits over 2 1-3 innings in a 9-4 loss at Comerica Park.

The teams have split the first two games of this series. Despite matching a season low with two hits Wednesday night, the Mariners (50-44) beat the Tigers 2-1 on Russell Branyan's two-run homer in the eighth inning.

Branyan matched a career high - set in 2002 - with his team-leading 24th home run, which was also the first in his last 26 meetings with Detroit.

Entering the All-Star break, the Tigers held a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL Central, but that advantage has shrunk to one game over the Chicago White Sox as Detroit (49-43) has lost four of its first five in the season's second half.

Since the break, the Tigers are batting .227 overall and .106 (4 for 39) with runners in scoring position.

The Tigers will try to break their slump by beating Washburn again and getting another solid effort from rookie left-hander Luke French (1-0, 1.89).

French, who has never faced Seattle, has not allowed more than two runs in any of his first three career starts.

Pitching in Yankee Stadium last Friday, he limited New York to two runs - one earned - in five innings, but Detroit's bullpen squandered a one-run lead en route to a 5-3 loss.

Detroit has won seven of its last nine home games against the Mariners, and is 16-7 this season against the AL West despite Wednesday's loss.