Seattle Mariners Rotation Looking to Bounce Back Against Oakland Athletics
The Seattle Mariners are set to begin the second leg of a 10-game road trip with a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics starting at 4:07 p.m. PT on Monday.
The Mariners are coming off a series loss against the Los Angeles Angels where none of their starting pitchers recorded a quality start. It's just the third time this season that happened.
Seattle will have unusual pitching matchups as they go against an Oakland team that is throwing out a reliever-turned-starter before turning over to a legit bullpen day. It will be the last time the Mariners play a series in Oakland Coliseum as the Athletics will play next season in Sacramento while their stadium in Las Vegas is being built.
Sept. 2 (Monday) — Logan Gilbert (Seattle) vs. Osvaldo Bido (Oakland)
The Mariners will throw out their ace against the Athletics' reliever-turned starter Osvaldo Bido.
Bido struggled during his first couple games in his new role but has since settled into the rotation nicely. He's had a quality start in four of his last five appearances and has struck out at least six batters in five of his last seven starts.
Gilbert has displayed his usual level of dominance and has a quality start in four of his last five outings with seven or more strikeouts in three of his last five. He had 10 strikeouts in six innings pitched and didn't let up a run or a free base in his last start.
Sept. 3 (Tuesday) — Luis Castillo (Seattle) vs. J.T. Ginn (Oakland)
Castillo will be looking to bounce back after a rough three-start stretch. He's let up at least three earned runs in three of his last five starts and has a 4.66 ERA so far in August.
Ginn will make just his fourth big-league appearance (second start) on Tuesday. He let up four earned runs in five innings pitched in his last start on Aug. 29.
Sept. 4 (Wednesday) — George Kirby/TBD (Seattle) vs. Joe Boyle/TBD (Oakland)
Both starts are officially listed as to be determined but recent starts show that these two pitchers will likely get the start on Wednesday.
Kirby has struggled to regain the consistency he had during his nine-game quality start streak. He's had a QS just once his last six outings and has given up a combined 24 runs (19 earned) in five starts in August. He has a 6.84 ERA over his last five appearances.
Boyle has registered just one quality start in his last seven appearances and has let up 12 runs (all earned) in four outings in August. His went 0.1 innings in his last appearance out of the bullpen and let up three eanred runs.
Sept. 5 (Thursday) — Bryan Woo/TBD (Seattle) vs. JP Sears/TBD (Oakland)
Similar to Wednesday's possible starters — Thursday is marked "TBD" for both squads but will likely feature these two hurlers.
Woo has gone to or through seven innings in each of his last six starts. Only of them — his last on Aug. 31 against the Angels — wasn't quality.
Sears is on an equally impressive stretch. He's gone through seven innings in five of his last six outings and has let up more than one earned run in just two starts over that same span.
The Mariners will have to win three-of-four (at least) to keep the playoffs a realistic possibility. Anything less than that will take monumental collapse from the Houston Astros and a near-miracle for Seattle.
It looks like there will be a lot of openings for the Mariners to take advantage of Oakland's rotation.
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