In the second of a three-game series between the Seattle Mariners (57-68) and the Oakland Athletics (55-71) at Safeco Field, Mike Montgomery (4-6, 4.16 ERA) and Jesse Chavez (7-12, 3.75 ERA) take the mound. The Athletics won the last game 11-5 and Oakland leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 10:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 25 and will air on CSCA and RTNW.
In his most recent outing, Montgomery pitched 6.0 innings, giving up three runs, striking out three and walking four in a 7-2 loss to the Rangers. Mark Trumbo (.252, 46 Rs, 17 HRs, 47 RBIs) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run, one home run, and one RBI. The Athletics were victorious over the Dodgers 5-2 the last time Chavez pitched. He went 8.0 innings, allowing two runs, striking out six and walking two. Ben Zobrist (.285, 55 Rs, 10 HRs, 46 RBIs, 1 SB) has been hitting the ball well for the Athletics, going 2 for 4 yesterday with two runs.
Seattle is a -120 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Mariners are 33-40 as the favorite and have an overall money line of -1,743. They have an SU record of 24-24 against teams in their division and a 14-14 record when they were the favorite in those games. Seattle’s pitching staff has fallen apart in the past 10 games. Its average runs allowed per game rose to 8.1 during that span, compared to its 4.6 season average.
On the other side, the Athletics have a subpar record of 23-37 when they are the underdog and are -2,475 overall with the money line. Against teams in their division, they are 24-25 SU and 9-10 as the underdog. Oakland has stepped up their play against division opponents. They have averaged 4.5 runs per game, more than their season average of 4.0. Oakland has an eye for the strike zone on the road, ranking 2.9 in the AL with fifth walks per game. The Athletics are a problem for opposing batters, sporting a 3.61 ERA this season. They also allow just 8.1 hits per game, good for third in the AL. The Oakland pitching staff has been an intimidating group on the road this year, averaging 7.6 strikeouts per game.
The Mariners have mostly come out on top against the Athletics in their previous 11 games this season, earning a 7-4 record. The Mariners will take on a right-hander (Chavez) in this game and have a 42-45 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. The left-handed Montgomery will take the mound against the Athletics. Against lefty starters this season, they have a terrible 11-25 record overall and 2-13 on the road.
Predictions: SU Winner – Oak, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Oakland is 23-31, while Seattle is 19-28.
The Athletics are coming into this meeting after a high-scoring game where they scored an impressive 11 runs. The Mariners have a 0-9 record when opponents score that many runs or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Mariners are 36-18. The Athletics have a 43-18 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 25th in runs, Seattle has earned 479 this season. Oakland ranks 15th with 517 runs.
Seattle and Oakland both rank in the top half of the league in walks. Seattle sits at 12th with 356 this season and Oakland ranks 13th with 355.
When the Mariners hit at least one home run, they are 48-38, well-matched with the Athletics who are 34-31 when hitting one or more homers.
