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Washburn faces old team as Mariners, Angels square off

May 17, 2007 - 3:00 PM LA Angels (23-18) at Seattle (18-17) 10:05 pm EDT

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Jarrod Washburn will face a very familiar opponent when he looks to continue his winning ways.

Washburn and Mariners look to rebound from a loss when they face the Los Angeles Angels on Anaheim in the rubber game of a three-game series on Thursday.

Washburn (3-3, 2.64 ERA) pitched for the Angels for seven years starting in 1998, a tenure that included a World Series title in 2002. He posted a 75-57 record and a 3.93 ERA there before signing a free-agent contract with the Mariners in 2005.

The lefthander, who is 3-1 with a 4.31 ERA in five starts against his former team, is coming off a stellar performance in which he shut down the New York Yankees for eight innings on Friday.

Washburn yielded six hits and struck out six in eight innings of a 3-0 victory on Friday. It was the 32-year-old's third win in his last four starts.

The Angels will turn to Bartolo Colon (4-0, 3.66 ERA), who gets to pitch in what must be one of his favorite ballparks.

Colon is 7-1 with a 1.98 ERA in nine career outings at Safeco Field and is 10-8 with a 4.32 ERA in 22 starts for his career against Seattle. In his last time out, the portly righthander beat the Texas Rangers, 6-3, by allowing three runs and five hits in six innings on Saturday.

Behind six strong innings by John Lackey, the Angels posted a 5-0 victory on Wednesday for their 11th win in their last 13 games.

Ichiro Suzuki had two of the Mariners' four hits, and has hit safely seven times in the first two games of the series. The Japanese star has also stolen 45 straight bases, sitting six shy of tying Vince Coleman's record of 50 straight in 1989.