by Jerry Feitelberg

AP file photo: Seattle Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma starts on Friday against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum is seen throwing against the Los Angeles Angels Sat Sep 4th at Safeco Field in Seattle

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s have seven games left to play against the Seattle Mariners this season. They will play three here in Oakland this weekend and the travel to Seattle to play the last four games of the 2016 season. The A’s are not ging to make the playoffs this year, but these games are vital to Seattle as they are still alive in the race for the second Wild Card slot. The two teams have met twelve times so far this year, and the Mariners lead the series 7-5.

The Mariners will be using the regular starters this weekend. Righties Hisashi Iwakuma (14-11) will pitch Friday night, and King Felix Hernandez (10-5) will pitch Saturday night. Hernandez has had a tough season as he spent some time on the DL and his season’s ERA is over four. He usually owns the A’s, but Oakland pummeled him here in Oakland earlier in the season. Lefty James Paxton (4-6) has not had a good season either. The Mariners were hoping for big things from Paxton, but stuff can happen and Paxton did not meet expectations. The A’s, on the other hand, are playing for pride. A’s manager Bob Melvin is taking a good look at some of the younger players as the season is nearing the end. Danny Valencia and Billy Butler are two players that are seeing their playing time diminished.The A’s are using Brett Eibner, Jake Smolinski and Khris Davis in the outfield and Ryon Healy has supplanted Valencia at third. Marcus Semien remains at short, while Joey Wendle, recalled from Nashville,  is playing second base in place of the injured Jed Lowrie. Yonder Alonso is at first, and he was the batting star Wednesday against the Angels. Stephen Vogt still handles most of the catching chores, but Melvin will use Bruce Maxwell or Matt McBride. Other players that may see action are Chad Pinder and Max Muncy.

The Mariners are a veteran club with players that can put up excellent numbers. Second baseman Robinson Cano is the team leader. He is hitting .304 with 32 homers and 86 ribbies. The designated hitter, Nelson Cruz, continues to hammer the ball. He owns a batting average of .282 and has 35 homers and 85 RBIs on his stat chart this year. Third baseman Kyle Seager is another power hitter. Seager knocked 26 big flys out of the park this year and his brother, Corey, the rookie shortstop of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has 24. The are the first pair of brothers to hit 50 dingers in a season since the Upton brothers, Justin and Melvin, did it in 2011. Adam Lind and Dae-Ho Lee share playing time at first base. They have hit 33 homers combined and have knocked in 105 for Seattle. The Outfield features Seth Smith and Nori Aoki in left. Franklin Gutierrez and Leonys Martin share center field and Ben Gamel obtained in a trade with the Yankees, has seen playing time in right.

Edwin Diaz, Vidal Nuno, Pat Venditte, a former Athletic, and closer Steve Cishek will all see action this weekend. The A’s bullpen has been a strong point for Oakland most of the year. Ryan Dull, Liam Hendriks, John Axford, and Ryan Madson have all pitched well. However, there have been times when they haven’t done the job, but the good outweighs the bad.

Should be interesting as the young A’s will be trying to end the season on a high note and the Mariners will have to play at their best if they hope to reach the Wild Card slot.

 

 

 

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