Scott Kazmir (4-5, 2.79 ERA) is on the hill for the Oakland Athletics (36-45) as they square off against Roenis Elias (4-5, 4.25 ERA) and the Seattle Mariners (36-42) in the first of a four-game series at O.C. Coliseum. Action begins at 10:05 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jul. 2 and can be seen on ROOT-NW and CSN-CA.
Kazmir is 4-4 with a 3.35 ERA in his appearances against the Mariners, and goes up against a below-average Seattle offense which is batting just .231 this season. Josh Reddick (.287, 35 Rs, 11 HRs, 49 RBIs, 3 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one RBI. Elias is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA when pitching against the Athletics. He takes on a quality Oakland offense which is hitting .259 this season. Nelson Cruz (.307, 39 Rs, 20 HRs, 48 RBIs, 1 SB) has been successful at the plate for the Mariners, going 2 for 5 yesterday with two runs, one home run, and two RBIs.
Oakland is a -149 favorite against Seattle and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Athletics have an overall money line of -1,857 and a record as the favorite of 23-28. Within its division, Oakland has a 13-13 record as favorite and a 19-22 record SU. Oakland is one of the best in the AL in terms of walks, earning an average of 3.1 per game. As for the pitchers, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Athletics, who have a team ERA of only 3.49. The Athletics are the fifth-best team in the AL at limiting hits to their opponents, allowing only 8.1 hits per game so far this season.
In games where it is the underdog, Seattle has a 15-15 record and an overall money line of -1,224. They played solid baseball as the underdog over their last 10 games with a 4-1 record, and a 5-5 record SU. The Mariners allow 4.0 runs per game, but does worse whenever another team from the AL West Division is on the schedule. They bring that runs allowed average up to 4.4 against division foes.
The Mariners have controlled the season series, 5-1. The Athletics have a bad 4-14 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Elias takes the mound. Kazmir (LHP) will be on the hill against the Mariners, who have a 7-9 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – OAK, O/U – Under
Notes
Seattle won its last game in a shutout, its seventh of the season. Oakland has been shut out six times this season.
The Mariners are 4-6 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Athletics are 0-6 in such matchups.
The Mariners are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Athletics have a 4-10 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Mariners are 20-13. The Athletics have a 27-11 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 28th in runs, Seattle has earned 267 this season. Oakland ranks third with 360 runs.
Ranking 17th, Seattle is in the bottom half of the league in walks, notching 220 this season. Oakland ranks in the top five at fourth with 256.
The Athletics are 23-20 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Mariners are 30-19 when they hit at least one homer.
