Mariners visit Tampa Bay, aim to build on Kikuchi's strong performance
Seattle Mariners (52-73, fifth in the AL West) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (73-52, second in the AL East)
St. Petersburg, Florida; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Mariners: Marco Gonzales (12-10, 4.26 ERA) Rays: Brendan McKay (2-2, 5.08 ERA)
LINE: Rays favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Seattle heads into the matchup fresh off a dominant performance by Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi went nine innings, surrendering zero runs on two hits with eight strikeouts against Toronto.
The Rays are 33-29 in home games. Tampa Bay hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .324 this season, led by Eric Sogard with a mark of .370.
The Mariners have gone 25-37 away from home. Seattle has hit 198 home runs this season, seventh in the American League. Daniel Vogelbach leads the team with 27, averaging one every 13.9 at-bats.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tommy Pham leads the Rays with 117 hits and is batting .271. Mike Zunino is 2-for-16 with two home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Vogelbach leads the Mariners with 43 extra base hits and has 68 RBIs. Kyle Seager is 13-for-37 with a double, six home runs and 13 RBIs over the last 10 games for Seattle.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 7-3, .222 batting average, 2.81 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs
Mariners: 5-5, .255 batting average, 3.38 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs
Rays Injuries: Blake Snell: (elbow), Tyler Glasnow: (forearm), Yonny Chirinos: (finger), Anthony Banda: (elbow), Tommy Pham: (hand), Avisail Garcia: (right oblique), Joey Wendle: (wrist), Brandon Lowe: (leg), Yandy Diaz: (foot).
Mariners Injuries: Arodys Vizcaino: (shoulder), Connor Sadzeck: (elbow), Felix Hernandez: (shoulder), Brandon Brennan: (right shoulder), Chasen Bradford: (forearm), Dan Altavilla: (forearm), Austin Adams: (shoulder), Domingo Santana: (elbow), Mitch Haniger: (testicle), Braden Bishop: (neck), Ryon Healy: (back).