The Los Angeles Angels fired hitting coach Mickey Hatcher this week after Albert Pujols and many of his teammates got off to dismal offensive starts. A 12-year major league veteran as a player, Hatcher served as the Angels' hitting coach during their only World Series title run in 2002.

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GAME: Mariners (16-22, 4th AL West, - 7.5 GB) at Indians (20-16, 1st AL Central, +2.0 GA). GAME #: 39. SERIES: 1st of 2 games. MEETING: 4th (Indians lead 2-1). WHEN: Wednesday, 4:05 p.m., Progressive Field, Cleveland. PROBABLE PITCHERS: RHP Felix Hernandez (Seattle, 3-2, 2.29) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (Cleveland, 3-3, 5.18). STREAKS: Mariners L 2; Indians W 2. TV: ROOT Sports, MLB TV. RADIO: KIRO 710 (Seattle), Mariners Radio Network.

Outscored 11-1 by Boston in two feeble offensive performances at Fenway Park Monday-Tuesday, the Mariners move their deteriorating act to Cleveland Wednesday to start a two-game series with the Indians,  AL Central leaders who took two of three from Seattle at Safeco Field April 17-19.

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After the Mariners began the season 4-4, it was written here that, other than the guy who is the agent for disgraced Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino, Eric Wedge has for the next six months the toughest job in sports.

That's because the manager of this particular roster can do little to influence game outcomes. The season will require extraordinary patience from an impatient man,  managing up to a foundering ownership while managing down to under-productive players. Awwwwkward.

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Another ineffectual day at the plate doomed the Mariners, this time 5-0 Tuesday afternoon amid rain showers at Fenway Park.

In the two-game sweep, the Boston Red Sox outscored Seattle 11-1. The Mariners were nearly as futile against starter Josh Beckett as they were Monday against Jon Lester.

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GAME: Mariners (16-21, 3rd AL West, - 7.5 GB) at Red Sox (16-19, 5th AL East, - 5.5 GB). GAME #: 38. SERIES: 2nd of 2 games. MEETING: 2nd (Red Sox lead 1-0). WHEN: Tuesday, 1:05 p.m., Fenway Park, Boston. PROBABLE PITCHERS: RHP Blake Beavan (Seattle, 1-3, 4.32) vs. RHP Josh Beckett (Boston, 2-4, 5.97). STREAKS: Mariners L 1; Red Sox W 4. TV: ROOT Sports, MLB TV. RADIO: KIRO 710 (Seattle), Mariners Radio Network.

The Mariners don't have much of a history of success at Fenway Park, the latest example a 6-1 loss to the Red Sox Monday in a game in which Boston raked Jason Vargas for five earned runs, including a pair of homers. In a Tuesday matinee, Blake Beavan contests Josh Beckett.

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Whatever was bothering Jon Lester early in the season, it is no longer bothering him.

Certainly, the Mariners were no bother Monday night at Fenway Park.

The one-time all-state pick from Tacoma's Bellarmine Prep was on his game, giving up eight mostly harmless hits in the Boston Red Sox's 6-1 triumph. He retired the first 11 batters and allowed only two runners as far as second base until the ninth inning, when the Mariners pushed across their lone run.

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GAME: Mariners (16-20, 3rd AL West, - 7.5 GB) at Red Sox (15-19, 5th AL East, - 6.5 GB). GAME #: 37. SERIES: 1st of 2 games. MEETING: 1st. WHEN: Monday, 4:10 p.m., Fenway Park, Boston. PROBABLE PITCHERS: LHP Jason Vargas (Seattle, 4-2, 2.79) vs. LHP Jon Lester (Boston, 1-3, 4.29). STREAKS: Mariners W 1; Red Sox W 3. TV: ROOT Sports, MLB TV. RADIO: KIRO 710 (Seattle), Mariners Radio Network.

Few pitchers born in the state of Washington have had a better major league career than Jon Lester , a Tacoma/Bellarmine Prep product who is a two-time All-Star, has won a World Series Game 7, thrown a no-hitter and won the Hutch Award.

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Looking at pitching match-ups for the three-game series in New York, Sunday looked like the least of the Mariners' chances to pull out a game -- winless Kevin Millwood against Andy Pettitte, a Yankees hero coming out of retirement for his first game of 2012 in front of a Mother's Day sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium.

But the outcome proved why it's so hard assume anything in baseball.

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The imbalance on the Mariners roster -- expensive veterans and unproven youngsters with no mid-career players carrying the team -- is starting to get to manager Eric Wedge.

In a blunt conversation with reporters before Sunday's game, Wedge talked about lineup adjustments.

"We don't have any veteran guys doing anything right now," he said. "It's as simple as that.

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GAME: Mariners (15-20, 4th AL West, - 7.5 GB) at Yankees (19-14, 3rd AL East, - 2.5 GB). GAME #: 36. SERIES: 3rd of 3 games. MEETING: 3rd (Yankees lead 2-0). WHEN: Sunday, 10:05 a.m., Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY. PROBABLE PITCHERS: RHP Kevin Millwood (Seattle, 0-4, 5.88) vs. LHP Andy Pettitte (New York, 0-0, 0.00). STREAKS: Mariners L 2; Yankees W 2. TV: ROOT Sports, MLB TV. RADIO: KIRO 710 (Seattle), Mariners Radio Network.

The way the numbers line up, Kevin Millwood, Seattle's No. 5 starter, is due for a severe spanking when the Mariners, in last place for the first time this season, and New York Yankees conclude their three-game series Sunday.

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