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Mariners-Angels Preview

May 30, 2010 - 2:39 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Seattle (19-28) at Los Angeles (23-27), 3:35 p.m. EDT

Even in victory, the Los Angeles Angels can't seem to catch a break.

The Angels begin life without slugging first baseman Kendry Morales on Sunday when they try for a second straight victory in the finale of a home set with the Seattle Mariners.

Plagued by inconsistency through the first two months of the season, Los Angeles (24-27) is in search of anything positive to help string together some wins and get back over .500.

Saturday could have provided that moment after Morales' 10th-inning grand slam gave the Angels a 5-1 win over Seattle. Morales, however, broke his left leg during a pileup celebration at home plate and is scheduled to undergo surgery Sunday.

Losing Morales is huge blow for the Angels. He was leading the club in batting average (.290), home runs (11), total bases (94) and RBI (39).

"It's definitely not the mood we would expect in the clubhouse after a win, but when something like that happens, it's definitely disturbing," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "These guys all feel bad about what happened, but you've got to pick up the pieces and get ready to play (Sunday). It's a lesson for all of us."

Morales' freak injury came after star center fielder Torii Hunter suffered a bruised left hand after bing hit by a pitch from Felix Hernandez earlier in the game.

Hunter, who has seven homers and 29 RBIs, is day to day after X-rays were negative. However, he's more concerned about Morales.

"It's tough. You don't want to see him hurt like that. I was in here, checking out my X-rays and icing my wrist, but I was watching the game and screaming after the home run. But the screams just went to silence. I've never seen that in baseball, and that might be cut out in this organization."

As the Angles try to move on from Saturday's bittersweet victory, they hope Joe Saunders (3-6, 4.40 ERA) can continue his success against the Mariners.

After going 1-5 with a 7.04 ERA to open the season, Saunders is 2-1 with a 1.57 ERA in his last four. He's 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 11 career starts against Seattle.

The left-hander, who's won six in a row over the Mariners, allowed three runs and five walks in 5 2-3 innings of a 4-3, 10-inning victory at Safeco Field on May 8.

In his last start, Saunders gave up three runs and five walks in 6 1-3 innings but didn't get any help in a 6-0 loss to Toronto on Monday.

"It's not really frustrating," Saunders said. "It's a good positive for me, knowing that I'm starting to get back to what I know I can do."

Jose Lopez had two of the four hits Saturday for Seattle (19-29), which scored 18 runs while winning its previous three games.

The veteran infielder is 7 for 19 in his last five games, and 7 for 20 against the Angels this season.

Ian Snell (0-3, 4.32) looks to better his record against the Angels in his second start since returning to the rotation after a stint in the bullpen.

The right-hander is 0-2 with a 7.15 ERA against the Angels, with both outings in Anaheim. However, Snell was solid in his first start since April 27, giving up a run in five innings of a 2-1 loss to San Diego on May 22.