Toronto Blue Jays

Struggling Mariners try to salvage series finale vs. Jays (May 14, 2017)

Published May. 13, 2017 8:39 p.m. ET

TORONTO -- The fortunes of the Toronto Blue Jays seems to be taking a turn for the better.

The woes of the Seattle Mariners, however, show no signs of letting up.

The teams will finish a four-game series Sunday afternoon at the Rogers Centre with the Mariners trying to avoid being swept after the Blue Jays won 7-2 on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams have been hit hard by injuries.

The Blue Jays will get one of their injured players back Sunday when Aaron Sanchez (0-1, 4.05 ERA) takes the mound after two stints on the DL, one for a blister and the other because of a split fingernail. He pitched one inning between the two stints on April 30 when the broken nail forced him from the game.

The news keeps getting worse for the Mariners. They learned that Hisashi Iwakuma, who was put on the disabled list Wednesday with right shoulder inflammation, will be out from four to six weeks.

They also lost another starting pitcher when Ryan Weber was forced from his start after 3 2/3 innings with tightness in his right shoulder. His contract had just been selected from Triple-A Tacoma for the start and reliever Jean Machi had been designated for assignment to make roster room for him.

Further roster moves appear likely for the Mariners before the game Sunday.

"We'll probably have to bring somebody up for (Sunday's) game," Seattle manager Scott Servais said. "It's been a wild year so far. We're six-seven weeks into this thing and we had our ninth starter out there today.

"It's hard to imagine you could ever plan for anything like this. As much depth as you create in the offseason, you never think you're going to have to tap into it like this. But that's where we are at."

The Mariners will start left-hander Ariel Miranda (3-2. 5.20 ERA). He did not factor in the decision Tuesday in the 10-9 win over the Philadelphia Phillies when he allowed six hits and eight runs in 3 1/3 innings.

The 28-year-old Cuban was 5-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) with the Mariners and one game with the Baltimore Orioles last season. He has never faced the Blue Jays.

Sanchez (split fingernail) went on the disabled list April 16 because of a blister on his right middle finger and part of the fingernail was removed. After his failed start on April 30 because the nail split, he returned to the DL.

"That thing is so healed up now that you don't feel much," Sanchez said. "I think, for me, it's the freedom of not having to worry about it.

"There were so many times when I was out there, not wanting to throw (a curveball) because I didn't know if it was going to be an issue. Now, I can go out there and not even think about doing it. Doing it and doing it over again without any problems. I think that's what I'm most happy with."

He is 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA in five career games (two starts) against the Mariners.

The Blue Jays still have significant issues with players like Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin and J.A. Happ, but some of the players who are in action have played well.

Jose Bautista is beginning to hit home runs again -- three in his past four games -- and his three-run blast Saturday in the seventh inning turned the game.

"I'm just getting the good pitches and I'm not missing them," Bautista said. "I'm just taking it one day at a time and hopefully I'll continue to contribute. We're all showing up here every day to work hard and get wins and we've been doing that lately."

The Blue Jays (16-21) have won four games in a row for the first time this season and the Mariners (17-20) have lost three straight.