SEATTLE -- While the return of Felix Hernandez has been aligned with the Seattle Mariners battle back into playoff contention, it was the consistency of fellow starter Hisashi Iwakuma that had a more direct effect on Seattles August boon.That the Mariners have fallen back in the wild-card race at a time when Iwakuma is struggling is more than simple coincidence.Iwakuma (14-10) heads into his scheduled Sunday appearance on a three-start losing streak. Hes 0-3 with a 5.63 ERA over his past three starts, dating back to Aug. 18. Over that period of just over two weeks, the Mariners (69-66) have gone 5-11. The starting rotation, once a strength of the team, has become a liability. Saturday starter Taijuan Walker was the latest to struggle, allowing six runs without making it out of the first inning in a 10-3 loss to the Angels.I did not expect that tonight, manager Scott Servais said.Its become more the norm than an outlier for the Seattle starter to struggle recently. Not even Iwakuma and Hernandez have been able to avoid getting hit hard as the Mariners sink in the wild-card standings.It hasnt been a good series for the starting pitchers on either side. The Angels Tyler Skaggs turned in the best performance of any starter Saturday, but he served up a two-run homer in the first inning. The two teams have combined to score 13 runs in the first inning over the first two games of the series.You cant take any inning for granted, Angels star Albert Pujols said after hitting two home runs Saturday night and moving ahead of Frank Robinson into ninth place on the all-time list.Angels starter Matt Shoemaker may bring better results if he keeps on the pace hes put up in recent starts. Shoemaker (9-13) has added some semblance of stabilization to a starting rotation thats been in shambles for most of the season. He has won each of his past three starts as the struggling Angels (60-75) have begun showing some signs of life. Theyve won six of seven.One of Shoemakers recent wins came over a Seattle team that beat him twice earlier in the season. Hell face the Mariners for the third time this year when the Angels finish their series in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.Shoemaker has been one of the few bright spots for a Los Angeles rotation thats already used 13 different starters. The Angels have tried to resurrect the career of former Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and have rolled the dice on struggling veterans like Ricky Nolasco, Jhoulys Chacin and Brett Oberholtzer -- with mixed results.The game will mark the first of back-to-back afternoon games for the Mariners during the holiday weekend. Seattle hosts a three-game series with the AL West-leading Rangers beginning Monday afternoon. Texas has really had the Mariners number this season, winning the past five meetings while going 11-4 in the head-to-head matchup. Kyle Connor Jersey . 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Former Baylor president and chancellor Kenneth Starr defended former Bears football coach Art Briles on Saturday, saying he was unfairly criticized by the media for his handling of allegations of sexual assault against some of his players.During an interview at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Starr said Briles was an honorable man who conducted an honorable program.Briles has devoted his life to molding the lives of young men, Starr said. A grave injustice was done to Art Briles. Coach Briles has been [calumniated] ... its completely unfair.I have great confidence to this day in Coach Briles. I believe hes an honorable person.Baylor officials fired Briles in May, after the universitys board of trustees released the findings of the Pepper Hamilton report, which detailed how the school -- and specifically members of the football program -- failed to respond to reports of sexual assault.After the Pepper Hamilton summary was released, Starr was demoted and ultimately resigned, athletic director Ian McCaw was suspended and resigned and at least two other athletic department employees were fired.On Saturday, Starr said he disagreed with the findings of Pepper Hamilton, the Philadelphia law firm that the university hired in the fall of 2015 to investigate the way it handled sexual assault allegations.Among other findings, the Pepper Hamilton attorneys found that Baylor conducted processes that were wholly inadequate to consistently provide a prompt and equitable response under Title IX; actions by university administrators directly discouraged some complainants from reporting or participating in student conduct processes; and found specific failings within both the football program and athletics department leadership.dddddddddddd.The Pepper Hamilton summary also said the attorneys had significant concerns about the tone and culture within Baylors football program as it relates to accountability for all forms of student athlete misconduct.I disagree with the sense that there was a fundamental failure, Starr said Saturday. I love Title IX. It has been an instrument of great, great reform ... [but] the pendulum has swung much too far in one direction.Starr, who resigned as a law professor at Baylor in August, said he plans to write a book about his experiences at the school.In an interview with ESPN earlier this month, Briles said he took responsibility for his programs poor handling of sexual assault allegations against his players.There were some bad things that happened under my watch, Briles said. And for that, Im sorry. ... I was wrong. Im sorry. Im going to learn. Im going to get better. 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