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 2014 season.
The Opponent: The Mariners have won seven of their last 10 games and are coming off a rare sweep at Fenway Park, albeit against a subpar Red Sox team.
Past 2014 Meetings: The Rangers are 7-5 against the Mariners, who oddly are one of the few teams Texas has played well against this season.
Pitching Matchups: Monday — Miles Mikolas (1-5, 7.48 ERA) vs. Roenis Elias (9-10, 4.09); Tuesday — Nick Martinez (3-9, 5.13) vs. James Paxton (3-1, 2.20); Wednesday — Colby Lewis (8-11, 5.54) vs. Felix Hernandez (13-4, 2.07)
What's Hot: No surprise here, but Adrian Beltre is red-hot. The veteran third baseman, who's the Rangers' most consistent player, is batting .526 over his past five games with three doubles and two RBIs. Leonys Martin has been hot, too. The center fielder is hitting .400 over his last five games and is tied for the team lead in that span with three RBIs. Nick Martinez struck out a career-high seven batters over six innings in his last outing while allowed just two runs in his third victory of the season.
Outfielder Dustin Ackley is on fire, leading his team with seven RBIs in his last six games on four doubles, a triple and a homer. First baseman Logan Morrison is batting .389 with three RBIs in that same span. Over-celebratory closer Fernando Rodney has done plenty of celebrating lately, as he's 3-for-3 over the last week on save opportunities.
What's Not: After going on an extended hot streak, Elvis Andrus has snapped back into a funk over the past week, hitting just .176 in his last five games.
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Felix Hernandez was average in his last outing, which for him is bad. He gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings while giving up five hits. The Rangers have traditionally hit King Felix very well, but this Rangers team is a shell of any former one. Robinson Cano is hitting .217 over his last six games.
Familiar Faces: Former Ranger Endy Chavez is getting a lot of playing time in the outfield for the Mariners as a defensive replacement late in games.
