Raul Alcantara (0-1, 15.00 ERA) and James Paxton (4-6, 4.03 ERA) take the hill in the last of a three-game series between the Oakland Athletics (60-81) and the Seattle Mariners (74-68) at O.C. Coliseum. The Mariners won the last game 14-3, and Seattle leads the series 2-0. Action begins at 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sep. 11 and can be seen on CSCA and RTNW.
Alcantara pitched 3.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering five runs and walking one in a 10-7 defeat to the Angels. Paxton went 4.1 innings, surrendering six runs (two unearned) and striking out eight in a 10-7 defeat to the Rangers in his last outing. Nelson Cruz (.283, 84 Rs, 35 HRs, 89 RBIs) has been successful at the plate for the Mariners, going 3 for 4 yesterday with two runs and three RBIs.
Notes
In their last game, the Mariners won by a margin of 11 runs. The Athletics are 0-5 in games decided by a margin of 10 runs or more. The Mariners have a 5-2 record in blowouts.
The Athletics managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Mariners who are coming in with a 22-8 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
It looks like the Mariners have a slight leg up on the Athletics, as the Mariners have won their last four games while the Athletics have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Athletics are 40-15. The Mariners have a 54-12 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 28th in runs, Oakland has earned 548 this season. Seattle ranks eighth with 679 runs.
Ranking 28th, Oakland is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.694). Seattle ranks in the top 10 at ninth with an OPS of .763.
The Mariners are 50-56 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Athletics are 30-67 when they allow at least one homer.
