Rangers, Mariners look to starting pitchers for help

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SEATTLE -- Rookie Chase De Jong made his major league debut as a starter earlier this week and didn't do much to validate a spot in the rotation.

He'll be back on the mound Saturday night and it's likely De Jong's stint as a starter won't end any time soon -- no matter how it goes.

That's the state of the Seattle rotation right now. The Mariners are missing what may be the team's top three starters after LHP James Paxton landed on the disabled list Friday. He joined ace Felix Hernandez and prized free agent Drew Smyly on the DL, leaving Seattle with few options.

Seattle is so thin that RHP Christian Bergman is expected to be called up from Triple-A to start Sunday in place of Paxton. The combination of De Jong and Bergman to close out the series is probably not what manager Scott Servais needs to get the Mariners back into the American League West race.

"Obviously, it's not what we wanted, but we'll have some guys step up," Servais told reporters before Friday's series opener against the Texas Rangers, "and the guys are swinging the bats great right now, so we'll be just fine."

Texas knows all too well about injuries to key players, and the unavailability of LHP Cole Hamels and 3B Adrian Beltre are huge factors in the Rangers' 13-17 start.

Texas needs to get more out of its healthy players as well, and scheduled Saturday starter Martin Perez is among those who need to pick up some of the slack. Perez (1-4, 4.26 ERA) hasn't been terrible this season, but he brings a streak of three consecutive losing starts into Saturday night's game in Seattle.

Perez's last start was an indication of how close he has been to success, as the visiting Los Angeles Angels did most of their damage with two outs in the Rangers' 5-2 loss last Sunday.

"That's just part of the game," Perez told reporters after the loss. "I'll just keep working and be ready for my next start."

De Jong is looking to do the same after allowing six runs and nine hits in 2 2/3 innings in his starting debut last Sunday. De Jong was acquired in a March trade with the Dodgers, and the Mariners envisioned him as a reliever who probably needed some Triple-A seasoning.

But the injuries to Smyly and Hernandez put Seattle in a rather desperate position, so De Jong was added to the rotation. He didn't do a lot to evoke confidence in his first start, so De Jong is probably hoping for much better results Saturday night.

The Mariners need some innings out of De Jong after it took seven relievers to get through Friday's 13-inning loss to Texas.