As a rookie three seasons ago, Ervin Santana was hit hard in losing two outings against the Seattle Mariners. Santana must have learned something, though, as he hasn't lost to them since.
He'll try to win his third straight start Wednesday and improve to 3-0 against the Mariners this season as the Los Angeles Angels go for a sixth straight win and two-game sweep in Anaheim.Santana (13-5, 3.45 ERA) went 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA in two starts against Seattle in 2005, but has bounced back to win his next five decisions over seven outings versus the Mariners, posting a 3.60 ERA in that span. He's 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA in two starts against Seattle this year.
The right-hander is in position to match Joe Saunders for the team lead in victories after doing enough to win last Wednesday against Baltimore, yielding four runs in seven innings of a 9-4 victory.
He's 6-0 with a 2.54 ERA in eight starts against AL West opponents this year.
Los Angeles (75-43) continued its surge towards the playoffs with a 7-3 victory Tuesday in the opener of this brief series. The Angels, owners of the best record in baseball, increased their club-record lead in the division to 15 games and are on pace for the first 100-win season in franchise history.
Vladimir Guerrero, Garret Anderson and Juan Rivera homered as Los Angeles rallied after trailing 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
"Obviously, Juan, Vlad and GA driving the ball out of the park was big from the offensive side," Angels manager Mike Scioscia told his team's official Web site.
Anderson's two-run shot in the eighth inning extended his hitting streak to 17 games. He's batting .389 (28-for-72) during that span.
"That's a heck of lineup," Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said. "After you go through them two or three times there's a chance they're going to get you."
Francisco Rodriguez recorded the final out for his major league-leading 46th save in 50 chances. He's one save shy of his club record set two seasons ago.
Seattle (45-74) has lost four straight and also has dropped four in a row to Los Angeles. The Mariners are batting .306 over their last four games, but have stranded 36 runners during the slide.
The Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-5 on Tuesday to push his hitting streak to 17 games. The All-Star right fielder is batting .395 (30-for-76) during that stretch and has scored 13 runs.
Seattle's Felix Hernandez (7-7, 2.94) is 0-1 in his last four outings despite a 2.88 ERA. He was outstanding Thursday against Tampa Bay, yielding one run in eight innings of a 2-1 victory.
Hernandez has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 11 straight starts.
The right-hander won his lone start against Los Angeles this year, giving up four runs in 6 2-3 innings of an 8-5 win April 11. He improved to 3-4 with a 4.79 ERA in nine starts versus the Angels.
Guerrero is a career .393 (11-for-28) hitter against Hernandez.
