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Red-hot Nationals set sights on sweep of Mariners

Jun 23, 2011 - 2:35 PM (Sports Network) - Having already secured their first winning month of June since the 2005 campaign, the suddenly-surging Washington Nationals shoot for a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners this afternoon in the District of Columbia.

Washington is 14-6 this month and won 20 of 26 contests in June back in 2005, the club's first year in the nation's capital. The Nationals recorded their eighth straight win over Seattle last night, the longest active winning streak of any team against another club, with a 2-1 victory thanks to RBI hits from Danny Espinosa and Jerry Hairston Jr.

Espinosa had two hits and a run scored for the Nationals, who have won 10 of 11 overall and reached the .500 mark for the first time since May 11. John Lannan helped the Nats even their record by tossing 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run on three hits to lift his record to 5-5. He also struck out three and did not walk a batter.

"It's a good place to be right now. I've never been on a team that's been at .500 this far into the season," Lannan said. "I like it, but it's time to move past that, set new goals and start going above it."

Washington, which is 10-4 all-time against Seattle and 8-0 versus the Mariners since the franchise relocated from Montreal, owns a 7-1 mark on this nine-game homestand and will hit the road for six games against the White Sox and Angels after its matinee affair with the Mariners.

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman had a 10-game hitting streak come to an end on Wednesday, however. His streak wrapped around a stint on the DL.

Toeing the rubber for the Nationals today will be Jason Marquis, who is aiming for his eighth win of the season. Marquis is 2-0 with a 2.74 ERA in his last four starts -- all Washington wins. He did not factor in the outcome of an 8-4 win versus Baltimore last Friday and was reached for four runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Marquis is 7-2 in 14 starts this season and owns a 3.86 ERA over that span. The righty has been unbeaten so far at home, having gone 4-0 in five outings at Nationals Park, and is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in three career starts against Seattle.

Seattle has lost two straight, three of four and five of its last eight games as it looks to salvage the finale of this series.

Erik Bedard was saddled with the loss on Wednesday, as he lasted six innings and permitted two unearned runs with 10 strikeouts and two walks. He became the first Mariner to fan 10 batters and not allow an earned run in a loss. The last one to do that in the majors was Johan Santana in April 2009.

"(Bedard) is pitching his tail off out there," said Mariners infielder Brendan Ryan. "We have to do something, we can't just score one run."

Miguel Olivo had the only RBI for the Mariners and Justin Smoak crossed the plate in defeat.

Elsewhere for Seattle, promising young prospect Dustin Ackley has posted a hit in each of his first five games in the major leagues, becoming the first Mariner since Alvin Davis to accomplish the feat. Davis set a club mark with a hit over his initial nine games.

Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki finished 1-for-4 last night to extend his hitting streak to 10 games and is batting .442 with 10 runs, 19 hits and eight multi-hit efforts over that stretch. Ichiro leads the majors with 269 hits in interleague play since the 2001 season.

The Mariners will visit Florida for three games over the weekend on this road trip and are also at .500 for the season. They haven't been below that mark since a 24-25 record on May 25 and currently sit two games behind Texas for the AL West lead.

Mariners promising rookie hurler Michael Pineda tries to win back-to-back starts in more than a month when he takes the hill Thursday. Pineda hasn't registered consecutive wins since beating Minnesota and San Diego on May 16-21 and was 0-2 with a 4.07 ERA over a four-start span before besting Philadelphia with six innings of one-run ball in a 4-2 triumph last Friday at Safeco Field.

Pineda, a right-hander, held the Phillies to a run and two hits over six innings to run his mark to 7-4 with a 2.64 ERA in 14 trips to the hill. He is 3-3 in seven road starts and will face the Nationals for the first time.