Streaking Mariners look to stay hot vs. tumbling Twins

The Seattle Mariners are starting to look like a first-place team again.

Seattle remains in second place in the American League West but appears ready to re-challenge the Houston Astros for the division lead.

Winners of eight of their last 11 games, the Mariners -- who were in first place at the beginning of the month -- will try to continue their hot streak when they visit the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday evening in Minneapolis.

The Mariners have won the first two contests of the four-game series. They have won three in a row overall and are 4-1 to start their 10-game road trip.

A potent offense and a talented rotation have helped the Mariners thrive this season. Cal Raleigh leads the big leagues with 32 homers, and Julio Rodriguez is a threat every time he steps to the plate, as he proved with a go-ahead RBI in Tuesday night's 6-5 victory.

Even the Mariners' role players have made a positive difference. Those players include Donovan Solano, who drove in a pair of runs Tuesday after hitting two home runs Sunday against the Chicago Cubs.

"I never quit," Solano said. "That's the thing, I never quit. I tried to come here every time, try to help the team win, try to (give) my 100 percent with everything I have, every single time, every single night."

Minnesota also is determined not to quit despite a grueling stretch in which it has lost five games in a row and 11 of it last 12.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he sees signs that his players continue to battle. He noted a play Tuesday in which Trevor Larnach turned a single into a double thanks to aggressive baserunning.

Many players would have held up at first for an easy single, Baldelli said.

"It's something that we want our guys to maintain, even with some of these ballgames not going the way we want in our direction," Baldelli said. "Even if we're down, (we're) giving ourselves a chance to make something happen. Playing aggressively. That's what we have preached from day one of spring training. It's what we want to continue to do when we have the opportunities."

Twins right-hander Joe Ryan (7-3, 3.06 ERA) will try to provide a spark. He is coming off a loss Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers, against whom he allowed three runs on three hits in 5 1/3 innings in Minnesota's 17-6 defeat.

Ryan has started against the Mariners four times in his career, going 0-3 with a 5.50 ERA.

Seattle will counter with right-hander George Kirby (1-3, 6.16 ERA). He is coming off a no-decision Friday against the Cubs, who scored four runs on seven hits against him in five innings of Seattle's 9-4 victory.

Kirby is 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in three career starts against the Twins.

Baldelli said he would like to see the Twins' pitching and defense team up to prevent big innings. He watched the club surrender a five-run inning against the Mariners on Tuesday.

"Teams are going to score, but we've got to limit them and limit those big innings," Baldelli said. "That's something that we've struggled with and we know we have to turn around."