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Mariners-Angels Preview

May 29, 2010 - 6:32 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Seattle (19-28) at Los Angeles (23-27), 4:05 p.m. EDT

Following a tumultuous start, Milton Bradley is finally providing the Seattle Mariners with some much-needed production from the cleanup spot.

Bradley will try to keep driving in runs and help the Mariners to their second four-game win streak of the season Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels.

Bradley was shipped to his fifth team in four seasons when the Chicago Cubs traded the beleaguered slugger to the Mariners for pitcher Carlos Silva on Dec. 18. His troublesome year with the Cubs concluded with a suspension Sept. 20.

Bradley began this season 1 for 22 and made an obscene gesture heckling Texas Rangers fans in the team's fifth game April 9. During a home game against Tampa Bay on May 4, the outfielder got into a heated argument with manager Don Wakamatsu following a sixth-inning strikeout and left while the Mariners were headed to a 5-2 loss.

The following day, Bradley said he was seeking anger management counseling and was placed on the league's restricted list. He was hitting .214 with one homer and 12 RBIs at the time.

Those two weeks off have seemed to help as he's 9 for 31 (.290) over his last eight games. He's also 4 for 11 (.364) with six RBIs during the Mariners' three straight wins and drove in three runs in Friday night's 8-3 victory over the Angels.

"For whatever reason, I'm throwing some hits out there," Bradley said. "The biggest thing is that mentally, I'm all in. I'm focused and feeling good."

Seattle (19-28) was hitting .229 during a 7-21 stretch before its win streak, but has batted .280 while scoring 18 runs over the past three games. The Mariners' victory in Friday's opener of a three-game series - their only road games from May 19-June 6 - snapped a four-game losing streak away from home.

The Mariners will try to build on the end of that slide by helping All-Star Felix Hernandez (2-4, 3.80 ERA) to his first win since April 21. Hernandez, who was 19-5 in 2009, is 0-4 with a 5.19 ERA in his last six starts - all Seattle losses.

The right-hander, 4-6 with a 4.63 ERA in 17 career starts against the Angels, had his worst outing of the season in an 8-0 loss to Los Angeles on May 7, giving up all of the AL West rivals' runs in 3 1-3 innings.

His counterpart in that game and Saturday's contest, Jered Weaver (4-2, 3.36), pitched a two-hitter over 7 1-3 innings, but is 0-1 with a 5.09 ERA in three starts since that performance.

The right-hander was in line for a win Sunday in St. Louis after yielding three runs over six innings, but reliever Fernando Rodney allowed the Cardinals to tie the game in an eventual 6-5 loss in 10 innings.

"We couldn't hold it," Weaver told the Angels' official website. "That's baseball."

Weaver, searching for his fourth consecutive victorious start against the Mariners, has more wins over Seattle than any other opponent, going 9-3 with a 4.24 ERA in 15 starts.

Los Angeles, though, has been struggling for consistency since taking two of three at Safeco Field earlier this month. The Angels (23-27) are 9-8 since that series and 14-13 at home in 2010.

The Mariners will try to take advantage of that to win four straight for the first time since April 13-17.