CINCINNATI -- After skipping his previous turn in the rotation, Miami Marlins right-hander Jose Fernandez continues his pursuit of the National League strikeout crown Thursday night when he faces the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.Fernandez (12-6, 2.81 ERA) has 198 Ks in 137 1/3 innings, second in the league behind Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer, who has 211 strikeouts.However, Miami manager Don Mattingly wants his hard-throwing 24-year old to learn how to put batters away earlier in the count, thus limiting his pitches and extending outings.We dont talk a lot about his strikeouts, Mattingly said. We talk about him learning to pitch more. Keep himself in games. Keep his pitch count down. Pitch to contact. Part of that is to get early outs.Mattingly referenced Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, whom he managed in Los Angeles. While Kershaws strikeout totals were high, so were his innings totals.Theres a way to do it, Mattingly said. It cant be 3-2 strikeouts. You cant be missing 1-2, missing 3-2, then you get a strikeout. Thats putting an extra one to two pitches on every batter.Fernandez will be facing Cincinnati for the fifth time in his career. He is 2-1 with a 2.52 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 25 innings vs. the Reds.The Marlins skipped his last start in an effort to limit his innings. Ideally, Fernandez will be kept around the 180-inning mark.Fernandezs fastball is common knowledge. However, his breaking ball is something hitters still are adjusting to, according to Mattingly.Joses got a knack for knowing how to use his breaking ball, the manager said. Hes got a great breaking ball. He throws in the upper 90s, so you have to get going. That puts you in danger against anything that breaks late and breaks big. Hes added the (changeup), which works well with his fastball.Cincinnati is batting .269 since the All-Star break, led by first baseman Joey Vottos torrid .451 clip.The Reds will send one of their more dependable starters to the mound on Thursday, right-hander Dan Straily (8-6, 3.75 ERA).Straily will be making his 26th appearance of the season and 23rd start. Opponents are hitting just .215 against him, the ninth-best mark in the NL. He hasnt walked a batter in his last 16 2/3 innings and hasnt issued a free pass to a right-hander hitter since July 22.Straily has produced quality starts in seven of his past eight starts.Cincinnati (50-69) hopes to have all hands on deck against Fernandez on Thursday after a series of minor injuries caused regulars to miss games during the four-game series against Miami.Center fielder Billy Hamilton missed two starts since leaving Mondays game after a pair of collisions with the outfield wall.Left fielder Adam Duvall fouled a pitch off his left foot on Monday and was in a boot on Wednesday. It is doubtful Duvall will be back in time for the Thursday game.There is no fracture, manager Bryan Price said of Duvall. He was hit on one of those spots that you dont want to be hit. We decided immobilizing it was the way to go. We think hell be out a couple days.Second baseman Brandon Phillips had a knee contusion but returned to the Reds lineup on Wednesday in a big way with a pair of doubles, one of which drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, and two sensational defensive plays in a 6-3 Cincinnati win.Miami (62-58) is looking to keep pace in the NL wild-card race. After dropping two of the first three against the Reds, the Marlins are two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals and one game back of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the chase for the second wild card. Solomon Thomas Super Bowl Jersey . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Matt Breida Super Bowl Jersey . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. 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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Hisashi Iwakumas sore neck nearly prevented the Mariners pitcher from making his scheduled start and continued to bother him throughout the night.The Mariners gave their right-hander two big reasons to stick it out -- a pair of long home runs by Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz.Another stellar outing from Seattles bullpen helped, too.Iwakuma pitched into the sixth inning for his 14th win and the Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Saturday night for their seventh victory in eight games.I was OK to go today, but as the game progressed I started to feel stiffness, Iwakuma said through an interpreter. My body was starting to fly open. I wasnt as high as I wanted it to be. I kind of felt that throughout the third, fourth, fifth inning, but I was able to get out of jams.Iwakuma (14-7) allowed three runs on nine hits for his eighth win in the last nine starts. He struck out two and didnt walk a batter for the fifth time this season.Four Seattle relievers combined for 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Edwin Diaz retired three batters for his sixth save.Our bullpen was outstanding, Mariners manager Scott Servais said. Very, very good and they needed to be tonight. We didnt have much room for error. Thats a good formula for a win.A day after squandering several scoring opportunities, the Mariners stranded two runners in the first and another in the third before breaking through.Cruz hit his 29th home run leading off the fourth inning. Seth Smith singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the fifth and Cano hit the next pitch from Kendall Graveman (8-8) over the center-field wall for his 26th homer.We have guys that can hit line drives also but homers are good, too, Cruz said. Whatever way you can score runs, theyre welcome.Khris Davis homered for the second consecutive day while Coco Crisp and Billy Butler had three hits apiece for Oakland.Graveman allowed four runs over six innings and lost for the second time in his past 14 starts.dddddddddddd He was pulled after 79 pitches.This year is a lengthy one for him so I dont think its a bad thing to cut it short, As manager Bob Melvin said, explaining his decision to pull Graveman. We had some good performances out of the bullpen. We had some guys rested come in.DAVIS MUSCLES UP AGAINDavis hit his 29th homer leading off the sixth, extending his career-high pace. Whats most impressive is that 16 of Davis home runs have come at the spacious Coliseum, normally considered a pitchers park.Hes making the Coliseum look like a hitters park, Oakland catcher Stephen Vogt said. Youre always making sure youre watching when hes at the plate.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: James Paxton threw a bullpen session and reported no pain six days after getting hit in his left elbow by a line drive. Paxton is on schedule to pitch Tuesday in Anaheim but a decision wont be made for certain until the team sees how he responds Sunday.Athletics: Former closer Sean Doolittle (left shoulder strain) will begin a rehab assignment and pitch one inning for Triple-A Nashville on Monday. The plan is for Doolittle to make two more appearances in the minors before potentially joining the As on their next homestand beginning Aug. 22. ... RHP Jesse Hahn (right shoulder strain) threw 30 pitches off the mound and could begin a rehab assignment soon. ... Josh Phegley (right knee strain) took batting practice before the game but has not done any catching.UP NEXTMariners: Wade LeBlanc (1-0) makes his seventh start in the series finale on Sunday. The lefty last started against Oakland on Sept. 23, 2014.Athletics: RHP Zach Neal (2-1) faces the Mariners for the second time this season. His only loss of the year came against Seattle on May 25 when he allowed seven runs in four innings. ' ' '