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Red Sox-Mariners Preview

Jul 24, 2010 - 6:45 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Boston (55-42) at Seattle (37-60), 10:10 p.m. EDT

Jon Lester suffered a rare loss his last time out, struggling against one of the most potent lineups in the majors.

A start against baseball's worst offense should help him get back on track.

Lester tries to bounce back from a shaky outing and help the Boston Red Sox win three straight for the first time in four weeks Saturday night against the punchless Seattle Mariners.

After yielding two runs or fewer in his final five starts before the All-Star break, Lester (11-4, 2.81 ERA) allowed four runs and nine hits in eight innings of a 4-2 home loss to AL West-leading Texas on Sunday. The left-hander had won his previous six outings at Fenway Park, and suffered just his second defeat in 16 starts overall.

Although it was a disappointing loss for the All-Star, he was going up against a formidable Rangers' lineup that ranks third in the majors in runs (495) and second in batting average (.278).

The Mariners' offense isn't nearly as intimidating.

Seattle (37-60) is last in the majors in runs (321), batting average (.235) and homers (61). The Mariners were limited to six hits Friday and have plated two runs or fewer in nine of 13 games.

This will be Lester's first start of the season against the Mariners after going 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA in two outings against them last year.

Ichiro Suzuki is one of the few Mariners that has had success against Lester. He is 6 for 18 with two home runs off the southpaw.

The Red Sox (55-42) have opened this series in Seattle with back-to-back wins to stay seven games behind AL East-leading New York. Former Mariner Bill Hall hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning Friday for Boston, which has six victories in 16 games and hasn't won three in row since June 26-29.

Things have been considerably worse for the bickering Mariners, who are 4-16 this month to drop a season-low 23 games under .500.

Seattle's disappointing season hit a new low Friday when an argument broke out inside the Mariners' dugout between Chone Figgins and manager Don Wakamatsu. The manager was upset with a lackadaisical play in the field by Figgins, who didn't catch an errant throw by left fielder Michael Saunders allowing Boston's Mike Cameron to take an extra base on a double.

In the dugout skirmish, third baseman Jose Lopez had his jersey pulled off his back in the brief but intense scrum. Wakamatsu said Figgins would not be suspended for arguing with him.

"Eventually that's going to happen with how frustrated we've been," Friday's starting pitcher Jason Vargas said. "But we've all got to get along these last couple months."

David Pauley (0-2, 2.40) will start for the Mariners on Saturday, as he again seeks his first major league victory.

Pauley, Seattle's replacement for the traded Cliff Lee, began his career with Boston in 2008 before being traded to Baltimore last year. He never pitched for the Orioles and was eventually outrighted to the minors before signing a minor league contract with the Mariners in January.

Pauley, who went 0-3 with a 9.78 ERA in five starts with the Red Sox, hasn't pitched poorly in his first two starts with Seattle, but has received one total run of support. The right-hander gave up three runs while scattering eight hits in six innings of Monday's 6-1 loss to the White Sox.

This will be Pauley's first appearance against his former team.