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Mariners look to stay hot vs. Angels

May 16, 2007 - 1:36 PM LA Angels (22-18) at Seattle (18-16) 10:05 pm EDT

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Seattle Mariners will look to keep their hot bats going when they face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the middle game of a three-game set at Safeco Field on Wednesday.

Jose Lopez hit a two-run homer as the Mariners used a six-run third inning en route to an 11-3 victory on Tuesday. Ichiro Suzuki went 5-for-5 and Kenji Johjima homered for Seattle, which secured its third win in its last four games.

The game also marked the return of young ace Felix Hernandez, who had been sidelined since April 18 after straining his right forearm against the Minnesota Twins. Prior to that, Hernandez pitched 17 scoreless innings to begin the season.

In Tuesday's contest, the hard-throwing righthander left after 78 pitches, allowing three runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out five and did not walk a batter.

The Mariners will look for a better outing from Cha Seung Baek (1-0, 5.40 ERA), who is coming off the first complete game of his career. He allowed just six hits in a 9-2 win over Detroit last Wednesday.

The Angels will counter with John Lackey (5-3, 2.70), whO allowed three runs and five hits in 8 1/3 frames last Friday in a 6-3 win at Texas.

Lackey is 6-8 with a 4.86 ERA in 18 starts vs. the Mariners in his career, including 1-3 with a 7.88 ERA in his last seven starts.