On Deck will be here all season to provide you with everything you need to know (and a few things you don't) about every Rangers series during the 2016 season.
The Opponent: The Mariners followed up their season win over Texas by a sweep at the hands of the A's. Ouch.
Past 2016 Meetings: The Mariners took two of three games from the Rangers in the opening series of the year last week after dominating Texas in the season series in 2015.
Pitching Matchups: Monday — Colby Lewis (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Hisashi Iwakuma (0-0, 3.60); Tuesday — Derek Holland (0-0, 5.40) vs. Wade Miley (0-0, 7.50); Wednesday — A.J. Griffin (1-0, 4.50) vs. Taijuan Walker (0-0, 3.00)
What's Hot: Top prospect Nomar Mazara had a stellar debut on Sunday, collecting hits in his first three at-bats, including a solo blast to center that accounted for the Rangers' only run of the day. Adrian Beltre is hitting .296 as the best hitting regular on the team, and that just shows how futile the team's offense has been through a week play. Hard-throwing lefty reliever Jake Diekman hasn't allowed a hit or run in four appearances so far.
Robinson Cano torched Rangers pitching last week with four homers in the three games. He's cool since, but he's always killed the Rangers along with guys like Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager. Former Ranger Leonys Martin is hitting .316 so far this year.
What's Not: Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson a 22.50 ERA, having given up five runs on seven hits in just two innings of work. All that damage came on Wednesday against Seattle when he failed to record an out and gave up five runs. Rougned Odor is off to a slow start with a .130 batting average through seven games.
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The Rangers got to Miley last week before their bullpen collapsed on itself. They touched Miley for five runs on seven hits over six innings of work. Kyle Seager is hitting just .174 so far this year, but we all know what he does against the Rangers. He did homer against Texas in the opening series.
Familiar Faces: The Rangers are hoping to avoid being torched by former star slugger Nelson Cruz, who hasn't been too kind to his old team since leaving the Rangers after the 2013 season. He's now joined by another former Ranger, Leonys Martin, who was key in the Rangers' bullpen collapse on Wednesday against Seattle. The Rangers have several former Mariners, as well, including Tom Wilhelmsen and less recent guys like Adrian Beltre and Shin-Soo Choo.
