The Seattle Mariners (84-70) will be trying to secure the second AL Wildcard spot when they face the Oakland Athletics (56-99) in the final game of their three-game weekend series on Sunday afternoon.
James Kaprielian, 4-9, 4.43 ERA, will get the start for the Athletics. The Mariners will counter with Robbie Ray, 12-11, 3.58 ERA.
Oakland and Seattle split their last 10 meetings.
**This preview was written before Saturday’s game was played**
The Athletics have the worst record in the American League and they’ve played like that over the past week, losing six of their last seven games. They will try to turn things around with a win over the Mariners, which will give them their second win in their last eight games.
Oakland is averaging 3.51 runs per game. Their .217 batting average is 30th in the league. Their .282 on base percentage is also 30th, while their .348 slugging percentage is 29th.
Sean Murphy leads the Mariners with a .250 batting average and 66 RBI, while Seth Brown leads the team with 25 home runs.
Oakland’s pitching is one of the worst in the league, with the team giving up 4.83 runs per game. Opponents have a .255 batting average against the Athletics, which is 25th in the league. Their 4.61 ERA is 25th, while their 1.34 WHIP is 24th.
In his last start, Kaprielian gave up 10 hits and six runs in six innings, leading to a 4-3 loss to the Angels. They will need another solid start from him if they want to win this game.