In the third of a four-game series between the Oakland Athletics (37-46) and the Seattle Mariners (37-46) at O.C. Coliseum, Kendall Graveman (5-4, 3.47 ERA) and Felix Hernandez (10-4, 3.05 ERA) take the mound. The Mariners won the last game 9-5 and the series is currently tied 1-1. The game gets underway at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jul. 4 and will air on ROOT-NW, CSN-CA and MLB.
Graveman is 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA against the Mariners in his career, and is up against a struggling Seattle offense that’s hitting just .230 on the year. Josh Reddick (.290, 37 Rs, 11 HRs, 49 RBIs, 3 SBs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 4 with two runs. In his career against the Athletics, Hernandez is 20-7 with a 2.63 ERA. He gets a strong Oakland offense that’s batting .259. Nelson Cruz (.305, 40 Rs, 21 HRs, 50 RBIs, 1 SB) has been doing well offensively for the Mariners, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one run, one home run, and two RBIs.
Oakland is a +122 underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Athletics are 12-17 as the underdog and have an overall money line of -1,657. They have a perfect 1-0 record as the underdog over the past 10 outings to go along with a 6-4 SU record. The Athletics typically don’t swing at bad pitches, which has led to an impressive 3.1 walks per game. Oakland’s pitching staff can be considered one of the best in the AL. The Athletics have a team ERA of 3.42, one of the lowest in their league. The Athletics don’t give up many hits to opposing batters, ranking fourth in the AL with only 8.0 hits allowed per game.
On the other side, the Mariners have a record of 20-27 when they are favored and are -1,224 overall with the money line. They have played poorly when rated as favorite as of late. They managed a 1-4 record when playing as the favorite and an SU record of 4-6. Playing against AL West foes really brings the worst out of the Seattle pitchers. They allow 4.4 runs per game against teams within their division, which is higher than their season average of 3.9.
The Mariners had the upper hand against the Athletics in their previous eight games this season, earning a 6-2 record. The Athletics will take on a right-hander (Hernandez) in this game and have a 32-31 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. The right-handed Graveman will take the mound against the Mariners, who have a 29-33 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – OAK, O/U – Under
Notes
Oakland recorded at least two errors for the 16th time this season.
When the Mariners play into extra innings, they have a 4-6 record. The Athletics are 0-6 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Mariners are coming into this game after allowing zero walks during their last outing. The Athletics have a 0-3 record when opponents give up that many walks.
When they outhit their opponents, the Mariners are 21-13. The Athletics have a 28-11 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 28th in runs, Seattle has earned 276 this season. Oakland ranks fourth with 369 runs.
Ranking 18th, Seattle is in the bottom half of the league in walks, notching 220 this season. Oakland ranks in the top 10 at sixth with 258.
When the Athletics hit at least one home run, they are 24-20. When the Mariners hit at least one homer, they have a 31-19 record.
