Photo credit: seattletimes.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Seattle Mariners will host the Oakland A’s for a three-game series starting Tuesday night in the Emerald City. The A’s and Mariners met earlier this year on Mid-April, and the Mariners won two of the three games. The A’s only win came when Sean Manaea pitched. Manaea beat the M’s and their ace Felix Hernandez by a score of 2-1.

The Mariners’ record so far is 16-11, and they are in second place in the AL West two games behind the first place Houston Astros. The Los Angels Angels fell into third place as they were swept at home by the rampaging New York Yankees who have now won nine straight games. The Mariners had a good weekend, too, as they won three out of four from the Cleveland Indians. The A’s are in fourth place in the division with a record of 14-14. The A’s are 3-3 on the current road trip and return home to play the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros.

The Mariners will send Felix Hernandez to the mound Tuesday night. Hernandez lost his last start against the A’s but is 25-10 lifetime against Oakland. Andrew Triggs will pitch for the Green and Gold. Triggs is 2-0 and has an ERA of 4.70. He allowed just one run and four hits in six innings of work in his last start against the Rangers. Triggs has not allowed no more than two runs in four of his five starts. On Wednesday, left James Paxton will pitch for Seattle. Paxton is 1-1 with an ERA of 5.71. Paxton has been so-so this season but he has had success against the A’s, and his  MLB career record is 31-21 and an ERA of 3.41. The A’s have not announced their starting pitcher for Wednesday due to the demotion of Kendall Graveman to Nashville. There is speculation that the A’s will recall lefty Brett Anderson from Nashville to make a start. Daniel Gossett may also be recalled. On Thursday, Erasmo Ramirez will go fo Seattle. Ramirez is 0-7 lifetime against Oakland. A’s manager Bob Melvin has not named a starter for Thursday, either. Sean Manaea would be likely as he pitched last Friday against Houston.

Whatever pitcher faces the Mariners will have to be on the top of his game as the Mariners are loaded. Dee Gordon, who came to Seattle from Miami over the winter, is filling the bill as the leadoff hitter. Gordon is hitting .309 and has an OBP of .339. Shortstop Jean Segura has been steady, and he is hitting .298. Hopefully, the A’s pitchers can keep these rabbits of the bases as they will have to face the big boppers who are Robison Cano, Kyle Seager, Nelson Cruz, Mitch Haniger, and Ryon Healy. Cano has been an All-Star for most of his career, and he is off to a good start again. Cano is hitting .313 and has 3 homers and 14 RBIs. Cruz is getting warmed up, and he has done a lot of damage against Oakland over the years. Cruz has 5 dingers and 11 RBIs but he cannot and must not be taken lightly. The same goes for the veteran third baseman Kyle Seager. The leading power hitter in the Mariner lineup is right fielder Mitch Haniger. Haniger has sent 10 balls over the fences and has 27 RBIs to his credit. Haniger dealt the A’s some pain last season. The next fearsome power hitter will be former Athletic Ryon Healy. Healy was traded to Seattle for pitcher Emilio Pagan. Healy missed almost three weeks of the season due to a sprained ankle. He returned to action last Saturday and hit a home run in that game and two more on Sunday as the M’s beat the Indians 10-4. Ichiro Suzuki will be in left field as he fills in for Ben Gamel. Ichiro, who is his 40s, is no longer the hitter that he was when he started his career with Seattle in 2001, is still dangerous. The catching chores will be handled by Mike Zunino and David Freitas.

The Mariners’ bullpen is staffed by Juan Nicasio, Nick Vincent, Dan Altavilla, Marc Rzepczynski, James Pazos, Chason Bradford, Wade LeBlanc, and the closer Edwin Diaz.

The A’s will respond with an offense that has been quite productive. They have two players will an OPS(on-base percentage plus slugging) over 800 and three players with an OPS of over 950. Khris Davis leads the team with 7 homers. Matt Chapman and Jed Lowrie are second with six each. Mark Canha, Matt Olson, Chad Pinder, and Marcus Semien each have three. The A’s have been hitting well, and they have been getting excellent starting pitching from Manaea, Triggs, Trevor Cahill, and Daniel Mengden.

The A’s have made some adjustments to the bullpen. The A’s moved Chris Hatcher down from being the eighth-inning setup man. Hatcher has been struggling, and that role may go either Ryan Dull or rookie Lou Trivino or possible veterans Yusmeiro Petit or Santiago Casilla. Pett and Casilla have done well recently and have earned the confidence of manager Bob Melvin. The A’s have just one lefty, Daniel Coloumbe, in the bullpen and his performance this season has been shaky. Coloumbe was sent down to Nashville, but he was recalled due to the injury to Ryan Buchter. Blake Treinen remains the closer and Treinen has recorded three saves, the last coming on April 15th.

The A’s would like to win two of the three in Seattle and finish the road trip with a winning record. The Mariners have other thoughts as they know the Yankees are playing the Astros and will be able to gain ground if the Yankees take the series in Houston.