Oakland Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea works against the Texas Rangers in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Seattle- The Oakland A’s are on their way to Seattle to face the Mariners for three games starting Friday night. The Mariners are in free fall right now and are in a state of desperation as they must right their ship if they hope to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2001 season. The Mariners have lost five in a row, and seven of the last ten games played as they have fallen four games behind the Minnesota Twins in the race for the second Wild Card spot in the American League.

The M’s won the first game of the series against the Yankees but lost the next two games. They then had the misfortune of having to play the red-hot Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore and lost all three games. If they have any hope of making the playoffs they have to sweep the A’s this weekend. The A’s are looking to rebound from a three-game sweep by the Los Angeles Angels. Oakland would love to upset the Mariners’ plans.

The pitching matchups for the weekend will feature Sean Manaea vs. Yovani Gallardo Friday night. Manaea is 9-8 and has been pitching better lately. Gallardo is 5-10, but he did beat the A’s earlier this year. Jharel Cotton will go for Oakland on Saturday, and he will be opposed by lefty Andrew Albers. Cotton has completed six innings in his last four starts and beat the Rangers last Sunday. He struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter in that game. Lefty Andrew Albers, acquired from the Atlanta Braves earlier this year, won his first two starts but lost to the Yankees in his last outing allowing eleven hits and eight runs, only three were earned as the M’s committed five errors in the first inning of that game. Daniel Gossett goes for Oakland on Sunday, and the M’s will use another lefty, Marco Gonzalez. Gossett pitched well for Oakland Monday night against the Angels, but it wasn’t good enough as he absorbed his seventh loss of the year. Gonzalez came to the M’s from the Cardinals and is 0-1.

The A’s are letting the young players show what they can do as the team enters the final month of the season. Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Chad Pinder, Bruce Maxwell, Boog Powell have all made contributions to the Oakland attack. Ryon Healy, in his second year, is having a good year and these young guys look to be the future of the franchise. The A’s, if they are going to be contenders in the future, need to shore up both the starting rotation and the bullpen.

The A’s pitchers will be facing a Mariner team loaded with veterans. They also have several former Athletics on their roster. They Include first baseman Yonder Alonso and Danny Valencia. Both of these players would love to beat their old team. The A’s pitchers will have to deal with Robinson, Cano, Jean Segura, Kyle Seager, and designated hitter Nelson Cruz. Cruz has feasted on Oakland pitching in the past and hopes to continue doing damage this weekend. Other players to watch are Ben Gamel, Jarrod Dyson, Leonys Martin, and Mike Zunino.

The A’s want to end the season on a high note and what could be better than taking the series from Seatte this weekend?