Seattle @ Oakland preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 4, 2011 ) Seattle 2, Oakland 1

THE STORY: Felix Hernandez needs to right the ship – and he usually does against the Oakland Athletics. Despite alternating wins and losses over his last six starts, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner takes the mound on Tuesday against the Athletics – a team that he has defeated four straight times and 11 of 15 overall. Seattle collected its third win in four games Monday when it posted a 2-1 triumph in the opener of a three-game set against Oakland. Righthander Trevor Cahill provides the opposition for the Athletics, who have dropped eight of their last 12.

TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, ROOT, CSCA.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Felix Hernandez (8-7, 3.35 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Trevor Cahill (8-6, 3.28 ERA).

Hernandez's mastery of the Athletics continued into the 2011 season. The All-Star hurler tossed a complete-game gem in the season opener on April 1 and pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings three weeks later. In his last outing, Hernandez allowed five runs and 10 hits in a 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

Cahill followed two brilliant performances with a clunker on Thursday. The 22-year-old Californian permitted five runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings in a 5-4 loss to the struggling Florida Marlins. Cahill is just 2-3 in his career against the Mariners, but he did collect the victory on April 23 when he yielded just one run on seven hits in six innings.

ABOUT THE ATHLETICS (38-48): Kurt Suzuki had two hits, including an RBI single in the second inning on Monday. The rest of his team? Well, it was 1-for-26 against Seattle. Oakland is just 3-4 on its current nine-game homestand. The less-than-stellar effort in front of the home folks has dropped the Athletics firmly into the bottom of the competitive American League West. Reliever Grant Balfour is expected to have a one-inning rehab assignment for Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday. He will likely return to the club this weekend against the Texas Rangers.

ABOUT THE MARINERS (42-43): Justin Smoak's RBI double in the seventh inning provided the difference in Monday's victory. Smoak, who also had an RBI on Sunday, went 10 previous games without driving in a run. Josh Bard, who was playing in place of the injured Miguel Olivo, belted his first homer of the season – a solo shot – in the sixth inning. The offense was just enough for Seattle, which has mustered just five runs in its last three games. Olivo, who has missed five straight games with a hamstring injury, is expected to return at some point in this series. Ichiro Suzuki has fared well against Cahill, going 7-for-15 in his career.

FINAL PITCH: "Luckily, (Smoak) was able to get the head out and drive me in there for that second run. Still, you can’t just assume we’re going to not give up more than three hits every game. We still need to put runs up on the board." – Seattle's Brendan Ryan.