(SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Young goes after his third straight win on Friday when the Seattle Mariners begin a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Young improved to 5-2 on Saturday, as he held the Detroit Tigers to a pair of runs and three hits in six innings to lower his ERA to 3.27 on the year.
The five victories are the most in a season for Young since 2008 when he won seven games for the San Diego Padres. Young, though, was injured that season and has failed to make more than 20 starts or avoid the disabled list in each season since his All-Star campaign in 2007.
He spent 2013 pitching for Triple-A Syracuse in the Nationals' farm system, going 1-2 with a 6.81 ERA before undergoing surgery to repair thoracic outlet syndrome on June 11.
"Physically, I feel good," Young said. "I feel like my breaking ball has gotten a little better and there's pretty good life on the fastball. Whether that means I'm stronger or what, I'm just trying to get everything in sync and make good pitches."
Young has split two starts versus the Rays and has pitched to a 9.00 ERA in those outings.
Seattle enters this series having won five in a row after sweeping a brief two-game set from the Atlanta Braves. On Wednesday, Hisashi Iwakuma tossed seven shutout innings and Kyle Seager and Cole Gillespie each drove in a run in the Mariners' 2-0 triumph.
"Everyone is doing their job," Gillespie said.
Tampa, meanwhile, comes in at the opposite end of the spectrum with 10 straight losses following an 11-6 setback to Miami on Thursday.
Jake Odorizzi (2-6), who has only one victory in his last 11 starts since winning his season debut, surrendered four runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts in five-plus innings to absorb the loss.
Ben Zobrist and Kevin Kiermaier each recorded a solo homer, while Matt Joyce and Desmond Jennings collected two hits and an RBI for the Rays, who are in the midst of their worst stretch since an 11-game skid from September 3-13, 2009.
"We're not a bad team, we're really not," said Joyce. "We have some great players here, but it just seems like we have not been on the same page."
Tampa will hand the ball on Friday to lefty Erik Bedard, who has lost his last three starts. Bedard failed to get out of the fifth inning on Sunday in a loss to Boston, as he allowed three runs and five hits and walked four batters in 4 2/3 innings, dropping him to 2-4 on the year to go along with a 4.08 ERA.
Bedard, who pitched in Seattle from 2008-11, has faced the Mariners eight times (7 starts) and is 1-4 against them with a 4.02 ERA.
Tampa took two of three from the Mariners earlier in the season.
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