• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Cahill eyes fourth straight win vs. Mariners

Jun 20, 2012 - 1:04 PM (Sports Network) - Trevor Cahill hopes to continue a tour of his former division with a fourth straight victory this afternoon when the Arizona Diamondbacks wrap a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners.

Cahill spent his first three big-league seasons with the Oakland Athletics after getting selected by the club in the second round of the 2006 draft. That tenure included an 18-8 mark and 2.97 earned run average in 2010 and he won another 12 games last season before getting dealt to Arizona in December in a five-player trade.

The right-hander has been a bit up-and-down so far this season, but has certainly hit the apex of his campaign so far by posting a 0.77 ERA over a three-start winning streak to open June. Cahill picked up his first victory in six starts by tossing a six-hit shutout at San Diego on June 3, then beat his former Oakland team six days later by scattering two runs over 7 1/3 frames.

Cahill extended his run on Friday against the Angels, hurling seven-plus scoreless frames while working around three hits and two walks. The 24-year- old also fanned a season-high eight to even his season record at 5-5 through 13 starts with a 3.08 ERA.

"I felt good tonight. I was able to mix it up and put guys away," Cahill said. "I had good defensive support. I had all four pitches working."

Cahill will make the 12th start of his career against the Mariners tonight and is 4-4 with a 2.94 ERA over the previous encounters.

Seattle's Jason Vargas will try to keep Arizona's bats in the ballpark this afternoon, an issue that has plagued him as of late.

The left-hander has been tagged for 10 homers over his last seven starts, a span in which he has allowed at least three runs each time out. He dropped his second straight start on Friday versus the Giants despite matching a season high with eight innings pitched as he allowed four runs on 10 hits, two homers and two walks.

"That's kind of what's been happening. The last [seven] starts, the home runs are what's killed it," Vargas told Seattle's official website.

The 29-year-old has fallen to 7-6 with a 3.95 ERA in 15 starts on the season and is a perfect 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in three previous outings versus the Diamondbacks.

Tuesday's contest between these clubs saw them combine for six home runs before the Mariners managed a 12-9 victory thanks to three runs in the 10th inning. They came without the longball as Casper Wells hit a pinch-hit, two- run single and later scored on Ichiro Suzuki's double.

Ichiro ended with four hits and surpassed 2,500 career hits in his major league career. Kyle Seager and Brendan Ryan hit three-run homers and Justin Smoak added a solo homer as Seattle won for the third time in four games.

"We've got some good young players here and I know we're a little bit inconsistent at times but we're getting more and more consistent offensively," said Mariners manager Eric Wedge. "To be able to put a big inning together like that ... says a great deal."

Seattle rebounded after having a seven-game win streak over Arizona snapped with Monday's series-opening loss. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, saw their six- game home winning streak come to an end despite homers by Gerardo Parra, Aaron Hill and Paul Goldschmidt.