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Angels-Mariners Preview

May 8, 2010 - 6:41 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Los Angeles (13-18) at Seattle (11-18), 9:10 p.m. EDT

Now that the Los Angeles Angels' lengthy losing streak is over, they can focus on extending the Seattle Mariners' skid.

Coming off their first win in May, the Angels look to hand the struggling Mariners an eighth consecutive loss Saturday night.

Kendry Morales and Juan Rivera each drove in three runs while Jered Weaver carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning as Los Angeles (13-18) snapped a seven-game skid with an 8-0 win in Friday's series opener at Safeco Field.

The victory came after the Angels were swept in a three-game series at Detroit followed by four straight losses in Boston.

"Just happy to be getting on the winning side for once," said catcher Ryan Budde, who hit his first career homer. "(Friday night) is over, hopefully we can keep bringing it every night."

A pregame team meeting held Friday might have helped spark the Angels, but the one Seattle (11-18) held obviously couldn't do the same.

Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said "this team has to come together" in order to get back on track. Instead, they were held to two hits and shut out for the second straight night while falling to 0-7 on a nine-game homestand.

Seattle is batting .169 and has been outscored 40-9 during its longest slide dropping 12 straight from Sept. 11-22, 2008.

"It's a tough stretch," Wakamatsu told the Mariners' official website. "We are going to believe in what we can do, continue to work and try to stay as positive as we can."

The Mariners hope to provide some support for Doug Fister (2-1, 1.29 ERA) when he takes the ball in this contest.

Fister has given up two runs in 16 innings of his last two starts, but he's failed to get decisions during both losses as his teammates scored a combined five runs.

"It's amazing to me that he has that kind of composure on the mound for such a young pitcher," Wakamatsu said. "It's a pleasure to watch him pitch out there."

In Fister's only previous start against the Angels, the second-year right-hander allowed a run in 7 1-3 innings of a 2-1 victory Sept. 1.

Los Angeles' Joe Saunders (1-5, 7.04) hopes facing Seattle will help prevent him from recording a fourth straight loss.

The left-hander is 7-1 with a 3.19 ERA in 10 starts versus the Mariners, including 5-0 with a 2.55 ERA in six at Safeco. He's allowed one run in 21 innings while winning his last three starts in Seattle.

Saunders, however, has an 11.57 ERA in his last three outings after giving up a season-high seven runs in four innings of a 17-8 loss at Boston on Monday.

"I'm just getting the bad ones out of the way, getting them done early," Saunders said. "They say you have five good ones, five bad ones and the other 20 are what make you a man when you can battle."

Ken Griffey Jr., who broke up Weaver's no-hit bid Friday, is 3 for 24 in his last seven games against the Angels.