Tierschutz aktuell /Nachrichten » , not only personally, but as a team,

The good King or the bad King?

That is the question for the Seattle Mariners and those in attendance Thursday night at Safeco Field for the opener of a four-game series with the Boston Red Sox.

Will they get to see the Felix Hernandez who went a season-high eight innings in his last home start against Tampa Bay Youth Matt Nieto Jersey , giving up just one run on five hits with one walk and seven strikeouts?

Or will it be the King Felix who lasted just three innings on the road Saturday against those same Rays, getting tagged for six runs (five earned) on seven hits to a team that had lost eight straight games?

“He threw the ball very well and got very good results the last time out (at home),” Mariners manager Scott Servais said after Saturday’s 7-3 loss. “But the key in this league is being consistent and going out there every start and giving your team a chance to win. And we were behind the eight ball after the third inning. I just want to see consistency and giving us a chance to win. And he does, too.

“Felix’s stuff wasn’t as good (Sunday). It was evident right from the get-go. The life on the fastball really wasn’t there. It’s not all about velocity. It’s about locating it. And that wasn’t really on either.”

Hardly a ringing endorsement for a six-time All-Star and the American League’s 2010 Cy Young Award winner.

King Felix is 6-5 this season with a career-worst 5.70 ERA. He has given up four or more runs in five of his past seven starts.

“I was making some good pitches and they had some hits that found some holes and there’s nothing I could do about that,” Hernandez said in his own defense Saturday. “I think I had pretty good stuff, they just put a lot of balls in play, just a little bit of tough luck. I was a little bit up, but I think I was making good pitches.”

Maybe catcher Mike Zunino put it best, telling The Seattle Times: “There’s been games where his velocity may not have been that high, but if he locates he can get away with stuff.”

Opposing pitchers haven’t gotten away with much against the Red Sox, who lead the American League East.

Outfielder Mookie Betts, who returned Monday from a stint on the 10-day disabled list with a left abdominal strain, leads the league with a .352 batting average and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.171. Teammate J.D. Martinez is second to the Los Angeles Angels‘ Mike Trout with 22 homers and is third in the league, behind Betts and Trout, with a 1.033 OPS.

Betts hit his first home run since coming off the disabled list Wednesday in a 5-1 victory that gave the Red Sox a sweep of Baltimore.

“I’ve done everything that I pretty much do, and I passed the test,” said Betts, who didn’t have the benefit of a minor league rehabilitation assignment. “Just trying to ride this wave.”

Hernandez is 8-4 with a 4.01 ERA in 19 career starts against Boston.

The Red Sox will counter with left-hander David Price (7-4, 4.00 ERA), who is 5-0 in his past six starts overall.

Price is 3-1 with a 2.62 ERA in seven career starts against Seattle.

MILWAUKEE — Lorenzo Cain will be back in the lineup Tuesday when the Milwaukee Brewers open a two-game interleague set with Cain’s former team, the Kansas City Royals, at Miller Park.

Cain sat out Sunday when the Brewers wrapped up a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a scheduled day off for the veteran center fielder, who ha played every game since May 23 but also a chance for him to rest a nagging groin injury and get two full days off his feet before facing his former team.

The 32-year-old has been everything the Milwaukee Brewers had hoped for when they signed him to a franchise-record $80 million contract during the winter.

Cain is among the team leaders in almost every offensive category this season: hits (71), walks (43), on-base percentage (.394). He is second in doubles (15), batting average (.291) and .OPS (.832).

He also has been something of a workhorse, appearing in 72 games — just one fewer than team leader Travis Shaw — while making 70 starts. He leads the team with 312 plate appearances and 265 at-bats.

“Winning games is the most important part Ziggy Ansah Jersey ,” Cain said. “It’s still early in the season and we have a long way to go, but winning consistently, winning series, that’s our main goal.”

Shaw should also be back in the lineup. He left Sunday’s game when he tweaked an already-sore right wrist during a third-inning at-bat. He missed two games with the same injury earlier in the week against Pittsburgh but started all four games against St. Louis.

“This is something I’ve been dealing with for a while now and a couple of swings here and there will get it every now and then,” Shaw said. “It’ll be nice to have almost two full days off with the rest of tonight, all of tomorrow and a night game (Tuesday). We’ll see where we’re at then.”

Having those two back and healthy, as well as red-hot slugger Jesus Aguilar, who got a break Sunday, will be a relief for rookie right-hander Freddy Peralta.

After making his first three big league starts on the road, Peralta will get a chance to show his talent to the hometown fans for the first time when he takes the mound for the series opener.

“I’m very excited,” Peralta said. “It’s like a dream, pitching in Miller Park.”

His MLB career got off to a memorable start. He struck out 13 in 5 1/3 scoreless innings with his family on hand to watch at Coors Field.

He’s 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA as a big leaguer with the Brewers, winning all three of his starts. Peralta has also struck out 84 batters in 59 innings for Triple-A Colorado Springs this season, going 6-1 with a 2.75 ERA there.

“I know that (major league hitters) are smart, but I just have to pitch the same and believe in myself, trust my ability in making pitches,” Peralta said. “I know they’re better hitters than in the minor leagues, and I just have to make the adjustments, but it’s all the same for me.”

He’ll go up against right-hander Jakub Junis, who has lost his last five starts and hasn’t won since May 18.

Junis has a 6.75 ERA during his losing streak with 24 strikeouts in 24 innings.

“It’s been tough, not only personally, but as a team,” Junis told the Kansas City Star. “We’re grinding through it.

“It’s definitely been a struggle for me. I’ve given up a lot of home runs this year, so I’m very conscious of that. I’m trying to keep it in the ballpark, because when I do, that’s when I have success.”

Kansas City has faced Milwaukee twice this season. They dropped both games of an interleague series in April at Kaufmann Stadium.