Mariners vs Athletics: Why overlooking this year's Athletics could be dangerous

Mariners vs Athletics: Pitching matchups

Friday, May 10th @ 6:40 PM - Bryan Woo vs Paul Blackburn
Saturday, May 11th @ 6:40 PM - Bryce Miller vs Alex Wood
Sunday, May 12th @ 1:10 PM - Luis Castillo vs Ross Stripling

Wait a minute... is that Bryan Woo? Yes, yes it is, as he will be making his season debut for the Mariners, finally set to return from injury after making his three rehab starts in the minors. He will toe the rubber to open the series, taking the spot of Emerson Hancock who was sent down to Tacoma after getting shelled in his last outing.

Which Paul Blackburn are we going to see? His last two outings have been two sides of the coin, with a dominant outing (7 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 ER) against the Yankees after getting shellacked by the Orioles (4 IP, 6 ER, 3 HR). He's looked much better in 2024 than he did in 2023, and outside of a terrible 5 BB outing four starts ago, has only allowed five walks in his other 36.1 innings pitched.

Alex Wood had an awful start to the season, allowing 49 baserunners in 21.2 IP, with a 7.89 ERA. Since then, he has a 1.72 ERA but a 4.63 FIP in his last three starts, in large part to still allowed 21 baserunners across 15.2 IP. He has an awful BB rate, and it's a great opportunity for the Mariners to knock him out of the game early.

While Wood and Blackburn are coming off of great starts, Stripling would love to block out his last one. He gave up 10 hits and 11 runs (only 5 earned) in 1.2 innings against the Rangers. Prior to that, he had been doing admirable, with a 4.24 ERA across 40.1 innings, but still had a 1.339 WHIP, and was only striking out 6.02 hitters per nine innings.

Oh, and even though I know he would probably dice up the Mariners, I want to see Mason Miller pitch. Greatness is always appreciated.