(Photo: The West End/Flickr)
The A’s are off to Seattle to face the Mariners (4-4) for the third time this season. The good news for the A’s is they won’t be facing Jason Vargas this time, but here’s who they will face:
Friday 7:10 PM PST: (RHP) Bartolo Colon (1-1) Vs. (RHP) Felix Hernandez (1-0)
- Colon’s only two starts this season were both against the Mariners, his last start was horrible, having only lasted 4.1 innings while allowing 10 hits, 7 earned runs and striking out 3.
- Hernandez was not much better than Colon in his last start against the A’s, he lasted 6.1 innings, but allowed 8 hits, 6 earned runs and struck out 7. The 6 earned runs were the most he has ever allowed against the A’s.
Saturday 6:10 PM PST: (LHP) Tom Milone (1-0) Vs. (RHP) Hector Noesi (0-1)
- Milone had a great debut for Oakland, he pitched 8 shut out innings against the Kansas City Royals, only allowed 3 hits (all doubles), walked 3 and struck out 0. His command was a bit off (having posted a 1.5 BB/9 in 4 seasons in the minors), but I expect that should be something he gets under control the more comfortable he gets in the majors.
- Noesi also made his debut for the Mariners, he only last 3 innings, he allowed 6 hits, 7 earned runs, walked 3 and struck out 3. I expect him to bounce back at least a little since his first start was against the Texas Rangers.
Sunday 1:10 PM PST: (RHP) Graham Godfrey (0-1) Vs. (RHP) Blake Beavan (0-1)
- In his first start of the season Godfrey wasn’t great against the Royals, but he wasn’t terrible either, he allowed 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk and struck out 1 over 6 innings.
- Despite taking the loss the the Rangers in his first start, Beavan only allowed 1 earned run in 6.1 innings, he also allowed 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3.
Keys to Success:
The A’s did win the series against the Royals, but it wasn’t pretty as they continued to struggle at the plate, the team as a whole only combined for 14 hits and 6 runs in the last 3 games. They are 26th in the league in BA (.195), 26th in OBP (.270) and 25th in SLG % (.325).
It’s clear that if they want to start winning they are going to have to start hitting more.
