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Nelson Cruz was suffering from migraines when the Seattle Mariners were in Tampa Bay last weekend. He certainly has been causing headaches for opposing pitchers recently.

Cruz Renell Wren Jersey , the Mariners’ designated hitter, has eight home runs in his past 16 games, during which he has raised his average from .220 to .251. He hit three home runs in a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels this week and will set his sights on Boston Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello when the teams meet Friday night at Safeco Field.

“He’s certainly in a really good groove right now,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “So hopefully we can ride it for as long as we can.”

Cruz, who missed most of spring training with a quadriceps strain, hit home runs in each of the first two games of the season. But when he returned to the dugout after that second homer, he sprained his right ankle on the bottom step as he was about to put his helmet and gear away and was placed on the 10-day disabled list.

He had seven homers in his first 37 games this season before more than doubling that since May 28.

“I think we’ll look up at the end of the year and we’ll get a typical Nelson Cruz year here. He was off to a slow start early, everybody was all, ‘Where is this going?’ But he’s righted the ship http://www.bengalscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-michael-jordan-jersey ,” Servais said.

Cruz downplayed his part in leading the surprising Mariners to near the top of the American League West.

“The pitching is the one that got us here,” Cruz said. “I think we score enough to be able to win most of the games. We just find a way to scratch runs.”

Servais said the key to Cruz’s recent play has been his health. The 37-year-old also was hobbled after being hit by a pitch on the foot May 15.

“He is feeling healthier,” Servais said. “He’s such a big part of our lineup, driving guys in, getting the ball out of the ballpark. We saw it coming at the end of the last homestand. He started coming out of it, hitting those balls hard, hitting balls better.

“He’s getting the ball in the air. His timing is much better, he’s staying behind the ball and he isn’t chasing. He is swinging at strikes. That’s the key for any batter, not just Nelson.”

Porcello (8-3 T.J. Hockenson Jersey , 3.54 ERA) is 6-5 with a 3.62 ERA in 12 career starts against the Mariners. He has looked much more like the 2016 American League Cy Young Award winner (when he went 22-4) than the pitcher who lost a league-high 17 games last season.

“Two years ago is a long time ago now, it feels like, so it’s hard to compare,” Porcello told MLB.com. “I think we’re doing some things differently than we even did two years ago. So I haven’t really thought about what I was doing then. I know what I’m doing now, and I want to keep that going.”

The Mariners will send left-hander James Paxton (6-1, 3.02) to the mound. Paxton, who hasn’t lost since his first start of the season, is 2-0 with a 0.39 ERA in three career starts against the Red Sox.

A look at what’s happening around baseball today:

THIRTEEN AND COUNTING

Edwin Jackson is set to play for his 13th team in the majors, matching the most by any big leaguer. The injury-depleted Athletics are promoting him from Triple-A to start at Detroit. The 34-year-old righty will tie the clubs mark held by former reliever Octavio Dotel. Jackson made his debut in 2003 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and later pitched for Tampa Bay http://www.lionscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-jahlani-tavai-jersey , Detroit, Arizona, the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis, Washington, the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta, Miami, San Diego and Baltimore.

Jackson and Dotel Will Harris Jersey , who finished up in 2013, were teammates just once in their overlapping careers. They were part of the same three-team trade in July 2011 that sent them to St. Louis, and pitched in the World Series for the champion Cardinals.

AILING

Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is likely headed to the disabled after pulling up while running out a double-play grounder Sunday at Tampa Bay. Manager Aaron Boone said Sanchez hurt his right groin/hip abductor and ”it’s probably going to be a DL situation.” He will have an MRI.

Sanchez is hitting only .190 with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs, a season after he made the AL All-Star team while batting .278 with 33 homers and 90 RBIs.

BUCKEYE BROOMS

The AL Central-leading Indians and the NL Central cellar-dwelling Reds each have seven-game winning streaks. Both teams finished up sweeps in Ohio over the weekend and now hit the road – Mike Clevinger (6-2, 3.00 ERA) starts for Cleveland in St. Louis, and Tyler Mahle (6-6, 3.89) pitches for Cincinnati in Atlanta.

REST UP

Cubs star Kris Bryant is day to day with a sore left shoulder. The third baseman missed his second straight start Sunday at Cincinnati, but doesn’t expect to be out much longer. Bryant is hitting .280 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 66 games. The Cubs next open a series at Dodger Stadium.

HE’S O-K

Astros ace Justin Verlander leads the majors with a 1.60 ERA and is among the league leaders in strikeouts. He’s fanned at least 10 three times this season – Houston is 0-3 in those games, totaling just two runs. Verlander (9-2) and J.A. Happ (9-3) both try to reach double digits in wins when Toronto visits Minute Maid Park.

GETTING CLOSER

Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish is ready to make a rehab start for Class A South Bend in the Midwest League. He’s been out since May 20 because of triceps tendinitis. He’s expected to throw around 75 pitches http://www.lionscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-austin-bryant-jersey , and hopes to be back in the majors after that outing. Darvish is 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA in eight starts since signing a $126 million, six-year deal with Chicago as a free agent.

TAKE A BREAK

Mets shortstop Amed Rosario is being held out of the starting lineup as part of a mental break over the next couple of days. The 22-year-old is hitting just .249 and has struggled this month.

”We brought him in and talked to him, sat him down and we’re going to make sure that we take these next couple of days to work on some things in his overall game,” manager Mickey Callaway said. ”This young kid is still trying to develop at the major league level and these couple of days will allow him to get some work done in the cage, some work done in the field tomorrow taking groundballs and things like that. So we thought this would be really good for him.”

The Mets have lost six straight. They’ve also dropped 13 of 14 at Citi Field heading into a home series against Pittsburgh.

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