17 Justin Smoak, 1B

Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak went back-to-back in the ninth inning with Raul Ibanez Saturday in a loss at Cleveland.

Smoak hit his second homer of the season, a solo shot off closer Chris Perez. He went 2 for 3 with a walk and two runs scored. He added a double and is batting .254.

The 26-year-old has hit in three straight and is 5 for 11 with three walks over that span.

Mariners first basemen Justin Smoak has been on a doubles tear. Smoak, who has six two-baggers this year, has doubled in each of his last four games at Safeco Field.

The only previous Mariners to double in four straight games at Safeco were Ichiro Suzuki in 2002 and Michael Morse in 2006.

Smoak entered Saturday's tilt against the Athletics hitting .318 ( 14 for 44) with one home run and three RBI over his last 13 games.

"I haven't really felt bad all year," Smoak told MLB.com. "I've hit balls hard. I just have to keep having good at-bats and squaring balls up, and sooner or later they'll start going over the fence or in the gap."

Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak has struggled against left-handed pitchers this season. Smoak, a switch hitter, has hit just .167/.268/.194 in 41 plate appearances against southpaws this season.

Smoak hasn't shown massive splits against righties and lefties in his career, so his struggles against lefties this year may just be a blip on the radar.