The A’s are closing out the first half of the season the same way they started it, by facing the Seattle Mariners (35-49).  This is the 5th time the A’s will face the Mariners this season and will only see their division rival for 2 more series after the All-Star break.

Not a lot has changed since the A’s last faced the Mariners a little over a week ago, the A’s still are leading the Mariners in the division, but it’s a bit more comfortable now at 6 1/2 games.

Friday 7:05 PM PST: (RHP) Kevin Millwood (3-6) Vs (LHP) Tom Milone (8-6)

• Millwood’s last start was skipped due to groin soreness, but the last time Millwood pitched was against Oakland on June, 27th.  Millwood only lasted 2.2 innings after being pulled because of his injury.  He allowed 1 run on 1 hit (a solo home run) and struck out 3.
• Tom Milone’s road woes continued in Arlington in his last outing, although the defense was not much of a help to him.  In 5 innings he allowed 6 hits, 6 runs (1 earned), walked none and matched his career high of 6 strikeouts.  Milone last faced the Mariners on June 25th, throwing 7 shut out innings while allowing 7 hits and striking out 5.

Saturday 7:10 PM PST: (LHP) Jason Vargas (7-7) Vs (RHP) Jarrod Parker (5-3)

• Despite a strong start against the Boston Red Sox, Jason Vargas was tagged with a no-decision in his last outing.  He lasted 7 innings and only allowed 5 hits, 1 run, walked 2 and struck out 6.  Vargas has been very successful against the A’s this season so far.  In 3 starts against Oakland he has a 1-0 record and has only allowed 5 runs over 18.1 innings (2.45 ERA).  He also has 16 SO and 5 walks against them which is good for a 3.20 SO/BB ratio.
• Jarrod Parker had another strong start against the Boston Red Sox in his last outing.  Parker lasted 6.1 innings and only allowed 1 run on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3.  Parker has faced the Mariners once in his short career and that was in their last series.  Parker lasted 7 innings, allowed 3 hits, 1 run, walked 4 and struck out a career high of 9.

Sunday 1:05 PM PST:  (RHP) Felix Hernandez (6-5) Vs Bartolo Colon (6-7)

• Unfortunately the A’s won’t miss King Felix in this upcoming series.  Felix last faced the Orioles and he lasted 5.1 innings and allowed 4 runs on 8 hits, walked none and struck out 8.  He has faced the A’s 3 times this season and has a 1-1 record, has allowed 9 runs over 21.1 innings (3.80 ERA), walked 4 and struck out 19.
• In his first game back from the DL, Bartolo Colon had a nice outing against the boston Red Sox.  Over 6 innings he allowed 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), walked 1 and struck out 3.  Colon has faced the Mariners 3 times this season and has a 2-1 record against them.  He has allowed 8 runs over 19.1 innings (3.72 ERA), walked 2 and struck out 14.

Keys to Success:

If you remember, the last series against the Mariners was pretty ugly offensively.  The A’s won 2 out of the 3 games, but only combined for 10 hits and 5 runs in the entire 3-game series.  It would be nice if the A’s scored a little bit more this time around.  I would also love if the bullpen was as good as they were in the last series against the Red Sox.

 For more on the Seattle Mariners, visit Needle Ball. 

(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.