Oakland @ Seattle preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 25, 2015 ) Oakland 5, Seattle 6

The Seattle Mariners once again appear destined to be on the outside looking in come October, although it is impossible to tell where they are at in the standings based on the hot bat of Nelson Cruz. The major-league leader in homers clubbed his 38th to spark a six-run rally Tuesday, putting Seattle in position to secure a rare series victory Wednesday as the Mariners finish off a three-game home set against the Oakland Athletics.

Seattle has dropped two of three in each of its last three series, is 11 ½ games out of first place in the American League West and owns the AL’s worst run differential (minus-97) by a large margin, but couldn’t ask for much more than it is getting from the majors’ defending home-run champion. The four-time All-Star extended his on-base streak to 35 games with a fourth-inning solo shot Tuesday – a hit that ignited a comeback from a five-run deficit. The blast also ended a stretch of 16 unanswered runs for the Athletics, who ended an eight-game road losing streak after digging out of their own early five-run hole in Monday’s series-opening 11-5 victory. Oakland, which fell to 14-30 in one-run games Tuesday, can thank Seattle for a large part of that league-worst mark as six of the Athletics’ eight losses to the Mariners in the season series are by one run.
TV: 3:40 p.m. ET, CSN California (Oakland), ROOT (Seattle)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Chris Bassitt (1-5, 2.48 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Felix Hernandez (14-8, 3.74)
Bassitt, who has yielded three or fewer runs in each of his nine turns this season, took yet another hard-luck loss Friday versus Tampa Bay after permitting one run on six hits over 6 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old former farmhand of the Chicago White Sox hasn’t received much help from his current team as Oakland has scored exactly one run in five of his nine starts. One of those outings came against Seattle on July 5, when he was saddled with the loss despite giving up two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Hernandez continued to pitch well below his standards in Friday’s 11-4 setback against the White Sox, allowing four runs on nine hits in six frames en route to his second straight defeat. The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner is 2-3 with an 8.48 ERA over his last five turns after going 2-1 with a 1.09 ERA in his previous five. Hernandez may welcome a visit by the Athletics, however, since he is 20-8 with a 2.63 ERA in 38 starts versus Oakland.

WALK-OFFS
1. Seattle 2B Robinson Cano, who is batting .343 since the All-Star break after hitting .251 before it, became the first player in major-league history to open his career with 11 straight seasons with 30 doubles Tuesday.
2. Oakland’s 30 one-run losses matched the 1968 Athletics for the second-highest total in franchise history, two behind the 32 suffered by the team in 1976.
3. Cruz’s 11 home runs this month tied Alex Rodriguez (1999) for the second-best total in August in team annals, one behind record-holder Ken Griffey Jr. (12,1997).

PREDICTION: Mariners 3, Athletics 2