SEATTLE -- While the return of Felix Hernandez has been aligned with the Seattle Mariners battle back into playoff contention, it was the consistency of fellow starter Hisashi Iwakuma that had a more direct effect on Seattles August boon.That the Mariners have fallen back in the wild-card race at a time when Iwakuma is struggling is more than simple coincidence.Iwakuma (14-10) heads into his scheduled Sunday appearance on a three-start losing streak. Hes 0-3 with a 5.63 ERA over his past three starts, dating back to Aug. 18. Over that period of just over two weeks, the Mariners (69-66) have gone 5-11. The starting rotation, once a strength of the team, has become a liability. Saturday starter Taijuan Walker was the latest to struggle, allowing six runs without making it out of the first inning in a 10-3 loss to the Angels.I did not expect that tonight, manager Scott Servais said.Its become more the norm than an outlier for the Seattle starter to struggle recently. Not even Iwakuma and Hernandez have been able to avoid getting hit hard as the Mariners sink in the wild-card standings.It hasnt been a good series for the starting pitchers on either side. The Angels Tyler Skaggs turned in the best performance of any starter Saturday, but he served up a two-run homer in the first inning. The two teams have combined to score 13 runs in the first inning over the first two games of the series.You cant take any inning for granted, Angels star Albert Pujols said after hitting two home runs Saturday night and moving ahead of Frank Robinson into ninth place on the all-time list.Angels starter Matt Shoemaker may bring better results if he keeps on the pace hes put up in recent starts. Shoemaker (9-13) has added some semblance of stabilization to a starting rotation thats been in shambles for most of the season. He has won each of his past three starts as the struggling Angels (60-75) have begun showing some signs of life. Theyve won six of seven.One of Shoemakers recent wins came over a Seattle team that beat him twice earlier in the season. Hell face the Mariners for the third time this year when the Angels finish their series in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.Shoemaker has been one of the few bright spots for a Los Angeles rotation thats already used 13 different starters. The Angels have tried to resurrect the career of former Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and have rolled the dice on struggling veterans like Ricky Nolasco, Jhoulys Chacin and Brett Oberholtzer -- with mixed results.The game will mark the first of back-to-back afternoon games for the Mariners during the holiday weekend. Seattle hosts a three-game series with the AL West-leading Rangers beginning Monday afternoon. Texas has really had the Mariners number this season, winning the past five meetings while going 11-4 in the head-to-head matchup. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Ndamukong-Suh-Jersey/ . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Lawrence-Timmons-Jersey/ .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Andre-Branch-Jersey/ . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Matt-Haack-Jersey/ . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-William-Hayes-Jersey/ . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Kyle Moreno threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more to lead Brown to a 35-27 win over Bryant on Saturday.Moreno was 16-of-29 for 224 yards passing in the season opener for the Bears, who erased Bryants 21-0 first-quarter lead. Garrett Swanky, Troy Doles and Anton Casey caught the scoring passes.Moreno hit Doles for an 18-yard score midway through the second quarter then took it in himself from 10 yards to bring the Bears to within 21-14 with 8:03 to goo in the half.ddddddddddddAfter the break, Moreno threw touchdowns to both Casey and Swanky to give the Bears the lead, 28-21, with 7:21 to go in the third quarter. He then answered a Bryant score late in the third with his second rushing touchdown to put Brown on top for good.Dalton Easton threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns for the Bulldogs (1-2). Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '