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Mariners turn to Bedard in search of sweep

Apr 13, 2008 - 1:39 PM LA Angels (6-6) at Seattle (6-6) 4:10 pm EDT

SEATTLE (Ticker) - The Seattle Mariners made a pair of key upgrades to their pitching staff in an effort to overtake the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. So far, so good.

The Mariners will send Erik Bedard to the mound in search of a series sweep of the visiting Angels on Sunday.

Bedard (1-0, 3.27 ERA) was Seattle's key acquisition in the offseason, coming over from the Baltimore Orioles for five players. The hard-throwing lefthander has been solid so far, earning a win at Tampa Bay in his last start to snap what was a four-game losing streak for the Mariners at the time.

Seattle won the first two games of the series and is making its mark as a team to be contended with in the American League West.

Anaheim won 13 of the 19 meetings between the clubs last season en route to the division title, six games ahead of the Mariners.

But Seattle's offseason changes began to bear fruit on Saturday when Carlos Silva, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, tossed eight strong innings in an 8-3 victory.

The Angels will attempt to salvage the series with lefthander Joe Saunders (1-0, 0.56). The 26-year-old has been sensational in his first two starts this season, lasting eight innings in each outing and allowing just one run and eight hits total.

If he hopes to earn his second win of the season, Saunders will need to find a way to slow Raul Ibanez, who is 5-for-8 with three homers and six RBI in the first two games of the series.