Squeeze Play

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Another meeting between Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka is in order.

Left-hander Horacio Ramirez gets the ball for the Seattle Mariners (12-10) this evening when they face Dice-K and the red-hot Boston Red Sox (17-9) at 8:05pm ET.

In their last meeting, Ichiro ended up going 0-for-4, but the Mariners got three runs and eight hits out of Matsuzaka in seven innings, while phenom Felix Hernandez pitched a one-hitter to give Seattle a 3-0 win.

Ramirez has never faced the Red Sox, who are a big league-best 5-1 this season when facing a lefty starter.

The Mariners have won three straight games and seven of eight after a six-game losing streak, a surprising turnaround for a club coming off three consecutive last-place finishes in the AL West.

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The Milwaukee Brewers (18-9) are officially the hottest team in the National League... and all of baseball.

Right-hander Dave Bush will take the hill for the Brew Crew, looking for their fifth straight victory when they host lefty Tom Gorzelanny and the Pittsburgh Pirates (12-14) at 8:05pm ET tonight.

Bush is coming off his worst start of the season Saturday - a 10-1 loss to the Houston Astros, where he allowed eight runs and 10 hits over just 5.1 innings. He is 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two career starts against the Pirates.

Gorzelanny looks to rebound from his worst outing of the season, as well, when he yielded five runs on eight hits over six innings Saturday in an 8-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Gorzelanny had surrendered only six earned runs in his first four starts, spanning 26.1 innings. He worked seven strong innings last Aug. 15th in his only career start against the Brewers, allowing just one earned run, but didn't receive the decision.

In a young roster full of talent, Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games Wednesday with a fourth-inning single and is batting .382 with five homers and 15 RBIs during the run.

[MLB]