The Mariners bats came alive at Safeco last night, as they battled back to beat the Texas Rangers by a score of 11-10 with a rally in the bottom of the ninth. The Mariners begin a new series tonight against Houston, and I like the home team in Game 1.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - Hisashi Iwakuma will be on the hill for the home team, and he's off to a slow start this season. Iwakuma (0-1, 6.55 ERA) allowed four runs on six hits over five innings in a loss to the Dodgers in his most recent outing. It's hard to hold that against him though, the way the Dodgers have been swinging the bats this season. He was 8-6 with a 3.02 ERA in 15 starts at Safeco last year. The Astros counter with rookie Asher Wojciechowski, who is making his third career start, still in search of his first "W".

2. Nelson Cruz - He leads the major leagues with eight home runs so far this season, and all of those have come in his last eight games. He hit a pair of homers in last night's win over Texas.

3. X-Factor - Houston has scored fewer runs than any other team in the American League (34).

Selection: This is a play on the Seattle Mariners.(8*)