(Photo: The West End/Flickr)

Aaaaaand real baseball is back!!

If you’ve missed facing the Mariners, you’re in luck!  The A’s are back in Safeco this weekend to face the Seattle Mariners (31-43) in a series I like to call “The Battle to Stay out of Last Place”.  The A’s will face the Mariners twice before the All-Star game, both 3-game series.

The Mariners are 4-6 in their last 10.  They are 15th in the league in runs scored (307), but are 29th in the league in OBP (.300) and 27th in SLG% (.376).  The A’s are not much better with a combined OBP of .306 and not much worse with a SLG% of .365.  .

Monday 7:10 PM PST: (LHP) Tom Milone (7-5) Vs (RHP) Erasmo Ramirez (0-1)

• I have said it 100 times already, but I’ll say it again:  Tom Milone is terrible on the road.  Horrible.  His last start away from the O.co was against the Colorado Rockies where he allowed 8 EARNED runs on 8 hits and 4 walks over 4 innings.  The good news is he struck out 4.  Milone has faced the Mariners once at Safeco this season, he allowed 4 runs over 6 innings and took the loss.
• Erasmo Ramirez will be making his 3rd start for the Mariners today.  His last start was against the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he allowed 7 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk and struck out 5 over 4 innings.

Tuesday 7:10 PM PST: (RHP) Travis Blackley (1-2) Vs (LHP) Jason Vargas (7-7)

• Travis Blackley is coming off of a very strong outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He lasted 8 innings, a career high for him, and only allowed 1 run on 3 hits and no walks while striking out 6 (also a career high).  This will be the first time he will face his former team.
• Jason Vargas is coming off of his shortest outing this season.  In his last start he faced the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowed 10 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks, the problem being the longball, in which he allowed 5.  Vargas has faced the A’s 11 times in his career (9 started), he has a 4-4 record against them with a 3.64 ERA and 49 SO.

Wednesday 12:40 PM PST: (RHP) Jarrod Parker (3-3) Vs (RHP) Kevin Millwood (3-6)

• Despite only allowing 1 run to the San Francisco Giants in his last start, Jarrod Parker was credited with a no decision.  He held the Giants to only 4 hits and 1 walk over 6 innings while striking out 4.  This will be the first time Parker will face the Mariners.
• Kevin Millwood lasted 6 innings in his last start, he allowed 8 hits and 8 runs (5 earned) to the San Diego Padres, walked 3 and struck out 3.  Millwood has made 18 starts against the A’s in his career, he has a 6-4 record and 3.72 ERA over 84.1 innings against the green and gold.

Keys to Success:

The A’s have struggled against their division rival this season so far and have currently only won 2 out of the 7 games they have played against them.  First of all, they are really going to need Milone to have a strong start for them if they want to keep their bullpen intact for their 7-game road trip.

The A’s should take advantage of the fact they do not have to face Felix Hernandez this time around and as always, score runs early and score them a lot.