The Oakland Athletics (56-100) take one of the lightest-hitting offenses in the league on the road to face the Seattle Mariners (85-70) at T-Mobile Park on Friday for the opener of a three-game series. The Athletics are in the midst of a six-game road trip. They are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Angels, dropping the finale 4-2 on Thursday at Angel Stadium of Anaheim for their fourth straight loss. The Mariners are in the midst of a 10-game homestand. They won two of three against the Rangers in their last series, taking the finale 10-9 on Thursday at T-Mobile Park. Mitch Haniger went 2 for 5 with two home runs and four RBIs. Jarred Kelenic added two home runs, three runs, and three RBIs.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Mariners have won nine of 16 in the season series between the AL West rivals, including a 9-5 victory in their most recent meeting on September 22 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Reliever Matthew Boyd threw two scoreless innings to get the win.
ON THE MOUND
Ken Waldichuk (1-2, 7.15 ERA) is set to start for Oakland. The left-hander allowed four runs over five innings in his last start, a 10-4 road win over the Mets on Saturday. He got the win, scattering five hits while striking out four. For Seattle, RHP Logan Gilbert (13-6, 3.29 ERA) will take the mound. He has made two appearances against the Athletics this season, both starts, giving up seven runs (6 ER) over 11 innings (1-0, 4.91) with seven strikeouts and one walk. In his last start on Saturday, Gilbert took a no-decision on the road against the Royals. He threw five innings and gave up five runs on seven hits, striking out three and walking one in the 6-5 win.
AT THE PLATE
The Oakland offense is averaging 3.5 runs per game for the season, second lowest in MLB, with a slash line of .217/.282/.348. Sean Murphy leads the team in OPS at .764. The catcher is slashing .250/.332/.433 with 18 home runs, 66 RBIs, and 67 runs over 144 games. Against right-handed pitchers like Gilbert this season, the A’s have a .630 OPS, second lowest in MLB. Seth Brown is the team’s strongest performer against right-handers with a .802 OPS in 391 at-bats. Seattle is slashing .228/.313/.387 for the season and averaging 4.2 runs per game. Julio Rodriguez leads the team with a .844 OPS. The center fielder has 27 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 81 runs scored with a slash line of .280/.342/.502. Seattle is averaging 6.2 runs per game in the last five with a better slash line (.271/.386/.400). The M’s have a .706 OPS against southpaws in 2022. With a .960 OPS over 123 at-bats, Eugenio Suarez has been their best hitter against left-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Oakland is on a four-game losing streak away from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, bringing their record to 30-48 in 2022. The A’s have scored 3.9 runs per game away from home, while allowing 4.6 runs. Seattle has gone 41-33 in front of their home fans this season, averaging 3.8 runs per game while surrendering 3.6. In the last 10 games at T-Mobile Park between the teams, Seattle is 7-3 with an average scoreline of 4.8-3.6.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Athletics are fifth in the AL West, 46 games behind the division-leading Astros. The Mariners are second in the AL West, 16 games behind the Astros. They currently occupy one of the Wild Card spots, sitting second with a magic number of seven.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Seattle Mariners
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
