Mariners vs Athletics: Series Preview of the short two-game set in Oakland

The Mariners are heading to Oakland for a short two-game series against the Athletics. Although it’s the shortest series you can have, you could make an argument that these are the most important games of the 2021 season so far for the Mariners.

The Houston series was bad, and the run differential was awful, but the Mariners managed to get out of there with a win when all was said and done to avoid being swept. Losing the series 1-2 to the Astros isn’t awful, even if it isn’t what fans wanted.

The Mariners need a split at minimum in Oakland.

Two-game series can be amazing. They can also break your spirit as a fan. Especially when they are played against the one team in baseball that you need to beat more than any other, Oakland. The Mariners are 67-58, while Oakland is 70-55. That’s a three-game difference in records. Getting out with a split is paramount. They’re already ahead in the season series against Oakland, having won six of the ten games they have played. Ensuring that Oakland doesn’t tie it up could easily break the season.

So what can we expect to see in the series? Let’s take a look at some of the matchups that could be important, and determine who wakes up Wednesday morning a bit happier.

Mariners vs Athletics: Pitching Matchups in Oakland

Monday, August 23rd @ 06:40 PM: Marco Gonzales vs Paul Blackburn

Tuesday, August 24th @ 12:37 PM: Chris Flexen vs the bum aka Cole Irvin

I’ll start off with this. I hope that Cole Irvin gets shelled on Tuesday. Ever since he was talking smack at the start of the season, I don’t like the guy. Really hoping that the Mariners light him up. Him getting shelled would make my week. Seeing him not make it to the fifth inning for the third straight time against the Mariners, while giving up four or more runs, well… it would be amazing.

Okay, back to acting semi-professional.

Marco has been dealing lately, With a 1.43 ERA over his last six starts, going 37.2 innings, and allowing just a .201 BAA and a WHIP just under 1.00. He actually faced Irvin back on 07/25 going 5.2 innings and gave up two runs in a 4-3 Mariners win.

He will face Blackburn, who is making his second start of the season. He went 5.1 against the White Sox last week, giving up three runs. He was quite efficient, throwing just 75 pitches with 41 strikes, so the Mariners will need to be patient against him. Seeing that he threw just under 55% of his pitches for strikes could be an indicator that taking pitches and working counts could see him exit early.

Chris Flexen will throw the finale and has actually been throwing quite well on the road since the fiasco in San Diego back in May. Since then, he has thrown 36.2 innings with a 3.19 ERA in six starts. As for Cole Irvin… well, I’ll keep my mouth shut now I guess.

Mariners vs Athletics: Hitters to watch

Ty France has been amazing for the Mariners. If you take out the time when he got hit in the arm, he is hitting 321 on the season. That would be the second best average in all of baseball. Make whatever argument you want about “pulling stats” but this one actually seems reasonable to do.

As for the home run leaders on the team, Haniger is starting to hit for SLG again. He will need to continue to do so, as he is one of the main opportunists when it comes to driving in runs. Keep an eye on Kelenic though. He had been doing great at the plate before striking out seven times in the Houston series. If the discipline comes back, he should have another good series like he was before Houston.

As for Oakland, watch Starling Marte whenever he gets on base. The dude flies and has stolen 17 bases since Oakland acquired him last month, doing so in just 95 ABs. Matt Chapman has five home runs this month and could be heating up for the stretch run. Then, there is the other newcomer Josh Harrison. He’s hitting .277 this month, providing another dangerous weapon to the Athletics lineup.

Mariners vs Athletics: Final Thoughts

Look, two-game series, well, they can be tough. There are no feel-good wins at the beginning of the series, or series saving wins at the end. Fans are never happy enough with a split, even though we should be a lot of the time. In this case, the Mariners are trying to gain ground on Oakland, and plenty of fans have said “no less than a sweep”, which is flawed logic. There are a lot worse things in the world than leaving Houston and Oakland with a 2-3 record.

Obviously, as a Mariners fan, I want them to sweep the series, and would love to look at the standings on Wednesday morning to see that we are just one game behind Oakland. It’s baseball though, and crazy things happen all the time. If the Mariners are able to get out of town with a split (and lighting up Cole Irvin) then we should be happy.

Then again… Marco and Flexen back-to-back? Yeah, let’s sweep these guys. Let’s go Mariners!