Seattle Mariners Gameday Preview Vs. Oakland Athletics

In game two of the final series before the All-Star break, the Seattle Mariners look to gain more ground on the first-place Oakland Athletics after winning the first game last night.

Another good pitching matchup is in the works for tonight. Here are the details in our gameday preview.

Game Details:

Seattle Mariners: 50-43. Last 10: 5-5.

Oakland Athletics: 58-35. Last 10: 7-3.

Game Time: 7:10 PM Pacific. Location: Seattle, Washington. Safeco Field.

MATCHUPS:

Pitching:

Seattle Mariners RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (7-4, 3.07 ERA) v. Oakland Athletics RHP Jesse Chavez (7-5, 3.06 ERA)

EDGE: ‘Kuma. It appears that Iwakuma is in midseason form once again and he is tough to beat when he is on his game. Seattle managed five hits and two runs the first time they faced Chavez this season (Apr. 3) and followed that up with a seven hit, four run performance against him on May 6th.

Iwakuma has not faced the A’s this season and is 3-4 with a 4.35 ERA in seven games against the A’s in his career. But ‘Kuma has only allowed one earned run over his last two starts.

More from Mariners News

• Mariners News: Important to remember MLB Trades People, Not Stocks
• Mariners 2022 Report Cards: Grading the season for Mitch Haniger
• Mariners Trade Kyle Lewis to Arizona for Cooper Hummel
• Mariners 2022 Report Cards: Grading the season for Diego Castillo
• Mariners 2022 Report Cards: Grading the season for Adam Frazier

Starting Lineups:

Mariners:

Endy Chavez 9

James Jones 8

Robinson Cano 4

Logan Morrison 3

Kyle Seager 5

Corey Hart DH

Dustin Ackley 7

Brad Miller 6

Jesus Sucre 2

Of Note: Seattle goes with Sucre behind the plate tonight in place of the struggling Mike Zunino. Zunino is 0-for-his-last-11 with six strikeouts and is 1-for-22 over his last seven games.

Athletics:

John Jaso DH

Stephen Vogt 3

Yoenis Cespedes 7

Brandon Moss 9

Josh Donaldson 5

Jed Lowrie 6

Derek Norris 2

Eric Sogard 4

Craig Gentry 8

Of Note: Alberto Callaspo and Coco Crisp are out of the lineup, as both are dealing with injuries. Both will likely just sit out through the All-Star break and be ready for the second half. Nick Punto – who was ejected at the end of Friday night’s game – gets the night off as well.

Final Thoughts:

The Mariners starting rotation is built for series like this. Playoff-potential series. They took game one with Felix Hernandez on the mound, managing to beat the newly-acquired Jeff Samardzija of the A’s. Now, they need to win one for ‘Kuma and secure a guaranteed series win going into the break.

Score Prediction:

Mariners 4, Athletics 2.