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Angels-Mariners Preview

Jul 11, 2015 - 7:00 AM The Los Angeles Angels are having a good time, and it continues to show in their play.

In position to perhaps take over first place in the AL West, the visiting Angels try to continue their surge Saturday night against the Seattle Mariners.

Winners in 10 of 12, Los Angeles (47-39) was seven games out of first on May 4, but has since gone 36-24 to move within one-half game of first-place Houston, which has sat alone top the division since April 19. That was two days after the Angels last held sole possession of first.

"It's been fun," said star Mike Trout, who homered twice in Friday's 7-3 victory.

The Angels have batted .336 while averaging 7.9 runs and homering 15 times to go 6-1 on a nine-game trip. C.J. Cron also went deep twice Friday for Los Angeles, which rebounded from Thursday's 7-2 loss to Seattle (40-47). Trout is 8 for 16 with five homers and nine RBIs in the last four games while Cron is batting .571 (12 for 21) with three home runs and 11 RBIs in the five he's played on the trip.

"If you look at the way we've been swinging the bats in the last week, it's a lot more in line with what we need," manager Mike Scioscia told MLB's official website. "It's good to see."

Los Angeles will try to stay hot by extending the struggles of Hisashi Iwakuma (0-1, 7.17 ERA), who allowed four solo homers and five runs and eight hits overall in five-plus innings of Monday's 12-5 loss to Detroit. It was the right-hander's first appearance since landing on the disabled list April 24 with a right lat strain.

''He threw strikes and he was healthy,'' said bench coach Trent Jewett, who served as interim manager for that contest. ''Those are important factors. I don't think he commanded the ball probably the way he prefers, but he came out of it healthy.''

Iwakuma, 29-15 with a 3.05 ERA through 61 starts in 2013 and '14, has yielded nine home runs in 21 1-3 innings after allowing 20 in 179 last year.

"It's hard to get that sharpness back," he said. "As you go through the process it will come back."

The longest of his four outings this season came April 8 when he allowed five runs in the first two innings and lasted six in a 5-3 loss to the Angels.

Albert Pujols homered in that contest for his sixth hit in 30 at-bats against Iwakuma. Trout is 3 for his last 9 with a home run versus Iwakuma, who will be opposed by C.J. Wilson (7-6, 3.82).

The left-hander has allowed only a two-run homer to Kyle Seager in 15 innings while going 1-0 in two starts against Seattle this season, and three total runs over 28 to go 2-0 in his last four with the Mariners.

Though Wilson wasn't completely sharp while allowing three runs, six hits and throwing 104 pitches in six innings of Sunday's 12-6 victory at Texas, he won for the fourth time in five starts.

Nelson Cruz is 7 for 16 with a home run against Wilson, and batting .400 (10 for 25) with four RBIs in his last six while facing Los Angeles.

Ex-Angel Mark Trumbo is 10 for 19 in his last six games after belting a two-run homer Friday.