Oakland A's Breakout Star on Historic Run as Seattle Mariners Begin New Series Monday
The Seattle Mariners open up a critical four-game series on Monday afternoon against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland. It will be the final series for the M's in Oakland before the team shuffles off to Sacramento for the foreseeable future. They will eventually land in Las Vegas, though we don't know for sure when.
The M's enter play on Monday at 69-68 on the year. They are 6.0 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West and 5.5 games back of the final wild card spot. Though the season is not mathematically over, it feels over to most people on the outside.
That said, there are still 25 games to play and the M's would be best served winning as many of them as possible. If they are going to beat the A's, they are going to have to figure out how to neutralize the historically-hot Lawrence Butler, who comes in on an unreal six-game stretch.
Per @JayHayKid of the "Baseball is Dead" podcast:
Lawrence Butler is 7th player in MLB history to hit record 6+ HR and 2+ SB while striking out only once over a 6-game span, joining Ken Williams (1922), Willie Mays (1958), Frank Robinson (1962), Bo Jackson (1990), Barry Larkin (1991) and Richard Hidalgo (2000).
Lawrence Butler is 7th player in MLB history to hit record 6+ HR and 2+ SB while striking out only once over a 6-game span, joining Ken Williams (1922), Willie Mays (1958), Frank Robinson (1962), Bo Jackson (1990), Barry Larkin (1991) and Richard Hidalgo (2000).
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) September 2, 2024
Butler went 4-for-5 on Sunday as the A's lost to the Texas Rangers. He's hitting .265 for the year with 20 homers, 53 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Just 24 years old, he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 draft out of the Georgia high school ranks.
The Mariners will play the A's at 4:07 p.m. PT on Monday.
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