Oakland A’s pitcher Mason Miller who pitched during the Chicago Cubs series at the Oakland Coliseum will match up against the Seattle Mariners Tue May 2, 2023 at the Oakland Coliseum for his second big league start. (photo by the San Francisco Chronicle)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s have an off day this Monday. The A’s host the Seattle Mariners for three games starting Tuesday. The Mariners come to town with a record of 12-16, not quite the start they hoped to have. The A’s won their sixth game of the year, beating the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 at the Coliseum on Sunday. The A’s own the worst record in baseball, 6-23.

The A’s have yet to win two consecutive games this season. The A’s pitching has been terrible. The team ERA for the starters is over eight. The bullpen ERA is not better. The pen’s ERA is over seven. It is challenging to win games with those high-earned run averages.

The Mariners will have two key players back in the lineup on Tuesday. First baseman Ty France and centerfielder Jose Rodriguez will be off the IL that day. The M’s lineup will have Cal Raleigh as their catcher. Raleigh killed the A’s last year. Raleigh has hit five homers this year and has 18 RBIs.

The other infielders are Kolton Wong at second base, J.P. Crawford is the shortstop, and Eugenio Suarez is the third baseman. France, Wong, Crawford, and Suarez have hit four dingers total for the team. The numbers improve when you look at the production of the outfielders.

Left Fielder Jarred Kelenic is hitting the cover off the ball. Kelenic, who struggled at the plate the last couple of years, adjusted his approach. Kelenic has a .306 batting average, seven homers, and 14 ribbies. Center fielder Julio Rodriguez, the AL Rookie of the Year in 2022, will come off the IL on Tuesday.

Rodriguez is hitting .239 with five homers and 13 RBIs. Right Fielder Teoscar Hernandez, acquired in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, has hit seven big flies and knocked in 16. A.J. Pollock is the DH. Tommy La Stella and Sam Haggerty are the utility infielder backups.

The A’s have announced their starters for the three-game Series. The A’s will send Mason Miller (0-1 ERA 6.48) to the hill on Tuesday. Miller is a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher. He can throw the ball over 100 mph. Miller will be looking for his first win of his career. The M’s will counter with Logan Gilbert. Gilbert is 1-1 and has a 4.23 ERA. Gilbert was 13-6 last year.

On Wednesday, lefty J P Sear will go for Oakland Sears is 0-2 and has an ERA of 6.23. The A’s hope Sears can give them six or seven innings of work. The Mariners will send George Kirby out to pitch. Kirby is 2-2 and has an era of 2.93. On Thursday, Drew Rucinski will make his second start for the A’s. Luis Castillo will be the M’s starter,

The Mariners’ closer is Paul Sewald. Sewald has recorded seven saves this season. The setup guy is Matt Brash. Other pitchers in the bullpen are Justin Topa, Penn Murfee, Trevor Gott, Gabe Speier, Taylor Saucedo, and Chris Flexen.

There have been some bright spots for the A’s this season. While the team has floundered, several players have done well. The A’s have to be pleased with the play of Shea Langeliers. Langeliers has done the job as the catcher. He has six homers and 16 RBIs. A’s left fielder Brent Rooker, getting playing time after Seth Brown was injured, has paced the A’s offense with nine homers, 22 RBIs, and a sparkling .353 batting average.

Esteury Ruiz, who came to the A’s in the three-team trade that sent Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves, had the winning hit in Sunday’s game against the Reds. Ruiz is a good defensive outfielder. He is also a threat to steal anytime he is on base. The A’s are high on second baseman Jordan Diaz. Diaz looks like he is here to stay. Backup catcher Carlos Perez has hit well when he has been in the lineup.

The Mariners will abuse the A’s pitching staff for three days. A’s manager Mark Kotsay hopes his starters will get on track and get some wins. Not one A’s starter has received credit for a win in the first 29 games of the season. The pitchers have to do better. The A’s lost 102 games last year. They may lose more this year unless the pitching improves.