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Mariners Game Notes: Seattle Set for Series Opener vs. A’s

By Brian Helberg

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The Seattle Mariners (63-71) are in Oakland on Friday night to open a 3-game weekend series against the last place Athletics (58-76). First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 pm from the O.co Colosseum in the East Bay. Edgar Olmos (1-0, 2.13 ERA) will make this second career start in a Mariners’ uniform tonight, and Aaron Brooks (1-1, 5.47 ERA) will be on the bump for the A’s.

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Accuweather.com is expecting clear skies for tonight’s series opener in Oakland. Root Sports Northwest will carry the game live locally, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices.

Mariners’ skipper Lloyd McClendon and A’s boss Bob Melvin have released the following lineups for tonight’s game:

Pitching Preview

The Mariners claimed Edgar Olmos off waivers last November. Despite missing much of the first two months due to injury, Olmos has proved to be valuable addition to the M’s pitching staff. The 25-year-old southpaw is 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA across 12.2 innings pitched. Olmos has appeared in four games as a reliever, and has made one start for Seattle. His 4:7 strikeout to walk ratio is awful, but Olmos has somehow found a way to be successful thus far. His lone victory came against the A’s, and hopefully he can double his win tally tonight.

Aaron Brooks came over to the Athletics at the trade deadline this year as part of the Ben Zobrist return package. The 25-year-old right-hander has struggled with the A’s, going 1-1 with a 5.32 ERA through 5 appearances. Brooks has struck out 18 and walked 4 over the course of 22 innings. The San Bernardino, CA product has pitched much better than his numbers indicate. Brooks has hurled 6 innings or more and allowed 2 runs or less in 3 of his 4 starts.

Aug 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager (15) celebrates with third base coach Rich Donnelly (26) hitting a two RBI home run during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Pick to Click

Strangely, offense has not been the issue for the Mariners as of late. The presence of Edgar Martinez has helped immensely, as the club is hitting .260 since Gar took over on June 20. Kyle Seager has been red hot over the last week, and he is my pick to click tonight. The 27-year-old third baseman is hitting .462 with 2 doubles, 3 home runs and 7 RBI since August 28. Seags is hitting a paltry .170 against the Athletics in 2015, but I expect that number to rise this weekend. Look for Seager to record multiple hits tonight and drive in the game winning run.

Final Score Prediction

The Oakland A’s are one of the few teams in the American League with a worse record than the Mariners. Seattle is 9-4 against the Athletics in 2015, and hopefully the M’s dominance continues this weekend. Both starters tonight have short track records in the league, and thus the pitching matchup is hard to handicap. The Mariners are hitting the ball better than Oakland these days. Hopefully, this gives Olmos and Seattle a slight edge. I predict it will be close, but the Mariners will win 5-4 in the series opener on Friday night.

Next: Kyle Seager on Fire, Corey Seager Makes Debut

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