Oakland @ Seattle preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 1, 2011 ) Oakland 4, Seattle 8

THE STORY: The Seattle Mariners halted the Oakland Athletics' streak of consecutive games with at least five runs at eight Monday. The A's will be hard-pressed to begin another streak Tuesday as they face Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in the middle game of their three-game series. Oakland lost the opener of a nine-game road trip against Seattle, Tampa Bay and Toronto that will see it travel a total of 6,544 miles. The Mariners have won only five of their last 24 games, but three of the victories came against the A's.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, CSN California (Oakland), Root Sports (Seattle)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Rich Harden (2-1, 4.30 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Felix Hernandez (9-9, 3.38 ERA).

Harden, who was set to be traded to Boston over the weekend before the deal fell through, will make his sixth start of the season. The oft-injured righthander has allowed three runs or less in four of his outings, including Thursday's contest against Tampa Bay in which he yielded two runs over six innings but received a no-decision. The 29-year old is 5-2 in 12 career games vs. Seattle.

Hernandez surrendered one run in seven innings at New York on Wednesday to help end Seattle's franchise-record 17-game losing streak and post his first victory since June 24. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner has lost three straight home starts since topping Tampa Bay on June 2. Hernandez has dominated Oakland over his career, going 11-4 with a 2.53 ERA in 20 outings.

ABOUT THE MARINERS (46-62): Rookie Dustin Ackley continued his torrid pace Monday with a double, a triple and three RBIs. In 37 games this season, Ackley has recorded 42 hits, including 19 for extra bases. Only three players in franchise history has collected more in their first 50 games as a Mariner, with Alvin Davis (26 in 1984) holding the club record. Ichiro Suzuki has not fared well against Harden over his career, going just 5-for-23 (.217) without driving in a run. 3B Chone Figgins singled and scored Monday before leaving in the third inning with a hip flexor injury.

ABOUT THE ATHLETICS (49-60): SS Cliff Pennington went 0-for-2 before leaving Monday's contest in the sixth inning, ending his career-best hitting streak at 15 games. Interim manager Bob Melvin Pennington was lifted because he was having trouble closing his eyes, a result of his Bell's palsy. The Athletics are 0-2 in three meetings with Hernandez this season, scoring a total of three runs over 24 2/3 innings. DH Hideki Matsui's infield single in the first inning was the 60,000th hit in A's history. LHP Jordan Norberto made his Oakland debut after being acquired from Arizona on Sunday and allowed a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning.

FINAL PITCH: Oakland registered 11 hits in Monday's loss, marking the 17th consecutive game in which it recorded at least eight. It's the longest run for the franchise since the Philadelphia A's had a 21-game streak in 1944.