Seattle Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert will strive to snap a six-start winless skid on Sunday when he takes the mound in the rubber match of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas.
Gilbert (10-5, 3.47 ERA) is 0-2 with four no-decisions in that stretch, including one against Texas on July 16. He allowed one run on four hits in five innings in that encounter.
Gilbert, 25, surrendered two runs over six innings in each game in a pair of meetings with the Houston Astros before getting shredded by the New York Yankees in each of his past two outings. He permitted 13 runs on 17 hits — including four homers — in 9 1/3 innings in the two games vs. the Yankees.
“I feel good,” Gilbert said. “I mean, it’s August. I don’t think anybody feels perfect, but I’m not going to sit here and say that my body doesn’t feel good or anything like that when I know there are other guys that probably feel worse or are more fatigued.”
Mariners manager Scott Servais was quick to dismiss the notion of fatigue for Gilbert.
“Logan is going to be clutch for us down the stretch,” Servais said. “He’s a workaholic. He’s on top of it. I don’t really have any concerns.”
Gilbert is looking to regain the form he exhibited when he began the season with a 4-0 record in his first five starts. Included in that stretch was a victory over the Rangers on April 20 in which he scattered six hits over 6 2/3 scoreless innings.
While Gilbert is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in six career meetings with Texas, Nathaniel Lowe (7-for-16), Corey Seager (4-for-8) and Jonah Heim (4-for-13) have had success against him.
Seager hit his career-high-tying 26th homer as the Rangers snapped a nine-game skid to the Mariners with a 7-4 victory on Saturday. He has reached safely in 13 consecutive games.
Lowe had a pair of singles on Saturday to extend his on-base streak to 19 games.
“He’s the most reliable guy. I mean, honestly, right now, he’s our best hitter,” Texas manager Chris Woodward said of Lowe. “Day in and day out, he just has quality at-bat after quality at-bat. He’s put in a ton of work, and on the defensive side, something we challenged him on this offseason coming into the season.”
Rangers left-hander Martin Perez (9-3, 2.85) will take the mound on Sunday looking to bounce back from his first loss in 20 starts.
Perez, 31, yielded a season-high-tying seven runs on six hits in five innings of a 7-5 setback at Houston on Tuesday.
The All-Star owns a 2.45 ERA in two no-decisions against Seattle this season. He is 8-5 with a 3.36 ERA in 27 career appearances (24 starts) vs. the Mariners.
Mitch Haniger is 8-for-24 with three doubles in his career vs. Perez. Haniger also has hit safely in all seven games since being reinstated from the 60-day injured list on Aug. 6.
