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Kyle Seager was asked before Thursday’s series opener against the Boston Red Sox what it’s like to face a knuckleball pitcher.

A look of horror crossed the face of the Seattle Mariners third baseman.

“Is that tonight?” Seager asked.

Told the Mariners wouldn’t be facing Steven Wright until Saturday’s game in Seattle [url=http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/tramon-williams-jersey]Tramon Williams Jersey[/url] , Seager exhaled.

“Wow, don’t scare me like that,” said Seager, who could be excused for losing track as his wife is expecting their third child.

Seager said he has faced knuckleballers Wright, R.A. Dickey and Tim Wakefield during his career. He is 2-for-6 against Wright.

“It’s just a difficult pitch, one you don’t see that often,” Seager said. “They all throw it a little different; it goes all over the place. It can be fun, you just have to laugh at it a little bit.”

Mariners first baseman Ryon Healy, whose locker is next to Seager’s in the home clubhouse at Safeco Field, said he got his first major-league hit off Dickey.

“My hitting coach said don’t worry about your approach,” said Healy, who was with the Oakland Athletics at the time. “Just swing and hope it’s in the strike zone.”

Wright (2-0, 1.21 ERA) is 2-1 with a 1.32 ERA is three career appearances against the Mariners, including one start.

This will be Wright’s third start of the season. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in the previous two. He post a 6-0 victory over Detroit on June 5 in which he allowed two hits in seven innings with three walks and six strikeouts. He gave up four hits in 6 2/3 innings in a no-decision on Monday at Baltimore [url=http://www.patriotsauthorizedshop.com/authentic-adrian-clayborn-jersey]Patriots Adrian Clayborn Jersey[/url] , when he walked three and struck out five in a 2-0, 12-inning Red Sox victory.

“Out of the bullpen he was lights out, and then these past two starts have been pretty unreal,” Red Sox utility man Brock Holt told NESN. “That knuckleball dances around. It’s funny when you’re playing defense behind him and guys get on, they let you know how much it moves. It’s a difficult pitch to hit and he’s been able to throw strikes with it.”

Wright hasn’t allowed a run in his past 22 2/3 innings, the longest active streak in the majors.

“The thing with knuckleballs is people think you throw just one knuckleball, but the thing is, they’re big-league hitters,” Wright said. “The biggest thing is timing, and a pitcher’s got to disrupt their timing. So, for me, especially as a starter … I really just try to go back and forth with the velocity.”

The Mariners are scheduled to start left-hander Wade LeBlanc (2-0, 3.00), who has a 6.00 ERA but no decisions in two career starts against Boston.

LeBlanc [url=http://www.eaglesauthorizedshops.com/authentic-paul-worrilow-jersey]Eagles Paul Worrilow Jersey[/url] , in his second stint with the Mariners, hasn’t lost in 16 starts for Seattle, tied for the fifth-longest such streak for a pitcher starting his tenure with a team in the live-ball era. LeBlanc is tied with former San Francisco starter Noah Lowry (2004-05), trailing only the New York Yankees’ Whitey Ford (22 starts in 1950-53), Montreal’s Kirk Rueter (22, 1993-94), Cincinnati’s Brooks Lawrence (18, 1956) and the Yankees’ Jim Coates (17, 1959-60).

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros salvaged a split of their six-game road trip with a victory at Texas on Wednesday, setting the stage for what could be the most critical stretch of their schedule.

Houston returns to Minute Maid Park on Thursday to host the opener of a four-game series with the Chicago White Sox and an 11-game homestand that will carry the Astros (57-31) into the All-Star break.

Following their team record-tying 12-game winning streak last month, the Astros have gone a pedestrian 8-6. They have been unable to shake the Seattle Mariners (55-32) in the chase for the American League West pennant and remain behind the Boston Red Sox (59-29) and New York Yankees (56-2 in pursuit of the best record in the majors.

The Astros could gain significant ground in the standings with a dominating homestand facing two teams below .500, the White Sox and Detroit Tigers (38-50), sandwiched around a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics, against whom Houston is 8-1 this season.

Houston rallied from a four-run deficit to complete the sweep of its two-game set with the Rangers with a 5-4 win. The bullpen was vital [url=http://www.eaglesauthorizedshops.com/authentic-richard-rodgers-jersey]Eagles Richard Rodgers Jersey[/url] , with right-handers Will Harris, Collin McHugh and Ken Giles combining for five innings of scoreless relief, allowing three hits and zero walks.

“I think our bullpen did exactly what we needed,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.

The Astros have performed inconsistently since their winning streak, with injuries (shortstop Carlos Correa) and slumps (outfielder George Springer and super utility Marwin Gonzalez) yielding uneven play. Rectifying matters at home against inferior competition might cure ills.

Right-hander Justin Verlander (9-4, 2.12 ERA) will open the homestand for the Astros. Verlander has suffered consecutive losses, allowing nine runs on 16 hits and three walks with 14 strikeouts over 11 2/3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays during the final week of June.

Verlander has surrendered at least three runs in four of five starts after doing so only once over his first 13 starts. He is 21-13 with a 3.74 ERA over 43 career starts against Chicago.

The White Sox will counter with left-hander Carlos Rodon (1-3, 4.55 ERA), who will make his sixth start of the season. Rodon made his season debut on June 9 at Boston and allowed a season-high five runs in his last outing, surrendering six hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings in a 13-4 loss at Texas.

Rodon is 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA over four career starts against the Astros.

With their 7-4 loss in Cincinnati to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, the White Sox (30-56) will conclude their stretch of 13 games in 13 days with the four-game series against the Astros. Chicago entered the series finale at Cincinnati with its starters providing the fewest innings in the AL; right-handed starter Dylan Covey continued that trend by working only 3 2/3 innings.

Combine that strenuous bullpen workload with the lack of off-days, and the White Sox will look to Rodon to not only provide a quality start on Thursday but a lengthy one as well.
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