On Deck: Mariners

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: Think the Rangers are in a bad way? Well, the Mariners have been in the same boat. Both teams have won four of their last six and snapped losing skids on Sunday.

Past 2014 Meetings: The Rangers are 4-3 against the Mariners this year, as each team won a series on their home field in April.

Pitching Matchups: Tuesday — Colby Lewis (3-2, 4.99 ERA) vs. Hisashi Iwakuma (2-0, 1.59); Wednesday — Nick Tepesch (0-0, 1.69) vs. Chris Young (3-1, 3.22)

What's Hot: Prince Fielder had finally gotten red-hot before missing Saturday and Sunday with a lingering neck injury and receiving an epidural injection in his neck. Over the last week, in which he's played four games, he's hit .462. Adrian Beltre is starting to heat up, as well, hitting .320 with a homer and four RBIs in his last six games.

Iwakuma, who began the season on the disabled list after finishing third in the AL Cy Young race last season behind Yu Darvish, tossed eight scoreless innings in his last start. Newly acquired second baseman Robinson Cano is punishing the ball right now, hitting .458 over the past six games with five RBIs.

What's Not: Alex Rios and Elvis Andrus, who were both hot heading into the week, have cooled dramatically. The two have hit .182 and .192, respectively, over the past six games. Two of the more reliable bullpen pieces recently, Aaron Poreda and Jason Frasor, both have ERAs above 10.00 in the past week.

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Noted Rangers killer Kyle Seager, who's great in Globe Life Park, is hitting just .136 over the last week, but you can bet on his luck changing this week. One of the Mariners' big power acquisitions, Corey Hart, is hitting just .150 over the last week.

Familiar Faces: Chris Young, who will start Wednesday's matinee for the Mariners, started his career in the Rangers' organization before the Highland Park native was dealt to the San Diego Padres following the 2005 season. Justin Smoak was traded to Seattle in July 2010 for a guy named Cliff Lee.

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