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Red Sox-Mariners Preview

Jul 22, 2010 - 6:21 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Boston (53-41) at Seattle (36-58), 10:10 p.m. EDT

Wins are suddenly becoming much harder to come by for the Boston Red Sox. With John Lackey on the mound at Seattle, however, they have every reason to feel confident about their chances.

In desperate need of a boost, the Red Sox hope Lackey can earn his sixth straight road win against the Mariners as the teams open a four-game series Thursday night.

With 10 losses in its last 14 games, Boston (53-42) has fallen seven games behind first-place New York in the AL East and 4 1/2 games back of wild card-leading Tampa Bay. The Red Sox activated Clay Buchholz to start Wednesday's matchup with Oakland, but the All-Star struggled in a 6-4 defeat.

Boston hopes to get a sharper outing from Lackey (9-5, 4.65 ERA), who is having one of the most inconsistent seasons of his career but has posted a 1.78 ERA en route to winning five straight starts at Seattle.

The veteran right-hander is 12-9 with a 3.89 ERA in 25 overall outings against the Mariners (37-58).

Lackey is coming off an encouraging outing, as he allowed two runs in seven innings of a 3-2, 11-inning victory over Texas on Saturday night. He had yielded 11 runs over 12 innings while losing his previous two starts.

Lackey will face a Seattle lineup that ranks last in the AL in runs (314). Boston has had its own troubles at the plate, hitting .237 over its last 14 contests, but former Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre has remained productive.

The first-time All-Star is 11 for 24 (.458) with three homers and six RBIs over his last six games. Beltre, who played five seasons with the Mariners but was limited to 111 games last year due to injuries, is facing Seattle for the first time since signing with Boston in January.

The veteran third baseman has never faced Ryan Rowland-Smith (1-9, 6.18), who is set to take the mound for the Mariners.

Rowland-Smith's last two starts have done little to help his confidence. The left-hander has yielded six runs in each of the two losses, including a 7-6 loss to Los Angeles on Saturday, when he gave up eight hits in 3 1-3 innings.

Rowland-Smith has a 2.70 ERA but no decisions in seven relief appearances against the Red Sox.

Seattle got outstanding pitching Wednesday night, limiting Chicago to four hits en route to an 11-inning, 2-1 win. Franklin Gutierrez delivered a game-winning two-run single as the Mariners avoided a three-game sweep.

Despite that outcome, Seattle has scored only five runs over its last four games. Even 10-time All-Star Ichiro Suzuki has been in a slump, going 3 for 23 (.130) over his past six contests.

Russell Branyan, the Mariners' top power threat, has missed two straight games due to back spasms and could be held out for at least one more. The veteran is hitting .342 with nine RBIs in his last 10 games versus the Red Sox.

Suzuki went 6 for 13 (.462) with two homers in three home games against Boston last year. The Mariners won the season series 4-2.