New Town, Who Dis? Mariners at Athletics Series Preview
The Mariners make their first trip to Sacramento.
Usually we put the standings at the end of these series previews, but if those W-L records didn’t twig you to it, there’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear. That’s right, this series is a showdown between the current two top teams in the AL West, who are, just as everyone predicted this off-season, the Mariners and the Athletics. Obviously, the A’s were a popular sleeper pick this off-season because of their high-flying offense; the Mariners offense has come as more of a surprise. All that leads up to a pretty exciting series that could either see the Mariners strengthen their hold on the AL West, or have the A’s claim sole possession of first place for the first time this season.
Like the Mariners, the A’s got off to a slow start this season, with their season-opening series split in Seattle followed up by a sweep at the hands of an NL team (in Oakland’s case, the Cubs). The A’s languished a little longer in the loss column due to a tough opening slate that had them facing some very strong NL teams like the Cubs, Padres, and Mets, and also the Rockies. The A’s got back to the .500 mark at the tail end of April and so far are steaming ahead into May; they’re 7-3 over their last 10 games, second only to the Mariners and their MLB-leading 8-2 mark. The A’s have particularly been lifted these past few games by slugger Tyler Soderstrom, who’s in the midst of a breakout season, and rookie Jacob Wilson, who’s been their best and most consistent hitter.
The A’s lineup runs through their big three of Wilson, Soderstrom, and Brent Rooker, rounded out with contributions from Shea Langeliers and Lawrence Butler. J.J. Bleday isn’t hitting for a high average, but he’s finding his way on base with a lot of walks and isn’t striking out much. The rest of the lineup is mix-and-match based off the opposing pitcher, but the A’s have been finding ways to get it done, propping up some so-so pitching with just enough offensive might to win games despite a -23 run differential. The A’s lineup is now bolstered by yet another promising young slugger in first baseman Nick Kurtz, who tripled for his first MLB extra-base hit in the A’s late win over Miami on Sunday.
Probable Pitchers
From a previous series preview:
The A’s handed out the largest free agent contract in their franchise history to Luis Severino this offseason. There are worse ways to spend money in baseball, but Severino definitely isn’t the ace he once was with the Yankees. He did complete a pretty successful comeback campaign last year with the Mets, completing a full season for the first time since 2018 with some solid results. He added a sinker to his pitch mix last year and it really helped him keep the ball on the ground more often to go along with the swing-and-miss stuff already present in his arsenal. He’s got name recognition and isn’t that far removed from being a frontline starter. That’s a valuable thing for the pitching starved A’s.
Luis Severino labored through six innings on Opening Day against the Mariners, but managed to hold them scoreless while allowing seven baserunners. He’s been on a nice run recently, allowing six runs total over his last four starts.
From a previous series preview:
Jeffrey Springs was the other big offseason acquisition for the A’s after they brought him over in a big trade with the Rays. Springs enjoyed a breakout season in 2022 but was injured early in the next season and needed Tommy John surgery, costing him the rest of 2023 and most of 2024. His stuff was pretty diminished in his seven big league starts last year, but his surface level stats looked pretty good. When he’s at his peak, his changeup is a pretty deadly weapon and he emerged from his injury rehab with a new cutter under his belt. He’ll need to find some extra velocity on his fastball to hit his ceiling — he lost more than a tick off his heater last year — but his secondary offerings are all top notch.
Springs was brilliant in his Athletics debut against the M’s in the first week of the season; he went six scoreless while striking out nine and allowing just four baserunners. Things have been downhill for him since then. Command issues have continued to plague him, though he did hold the Rangers scoreless in his last start.
Gunnar Hoglund was one of the headlining prospects the Athletics received in the Matt Chapman trade ahead of the 2022 season. A solid slider and a decent changeup made up for a pretty lackluster fastball that sat in the low 90s. This spring, he came into camp throwing 2-3 mph harder and has maintained that velocity jump as the regular season got underway. His heater plays a lot better at those velocities, giving him a much better foundation to work from. He ran a fantastic 4.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio across six Triple-A starts and the A’s called him up to make his major league debut last week. He held the Marlins to just a single run in six innings while striking out seven.
The Big Picture:
The AL West continues to be one of the more dynamic divisions in baseball, although your Seattle Mariners have enjoyed sitting atop the division for some time now thanks to an 8-2 run that’s the best mark in baseball over that span. The A’s are hot on the Mariners’ heels as the only other team in the AL West to win a series this weekend. Seattle taking the series from Texas pushed the Rangers below .500 ball and into second-to-last position in the division. Just behind them is the Astros, who lost a series to the [checks notes, rubs eyes, checks carbon monoxide detector] White Sox. To be fair, one of those games was a rain-shortened seven-inning affair where the White Sox were clinging to a one-run lead, but surely we are not alone in saying ha, and also ha. After an early surge, the Angels have fallen to the bottom of the division; they’re the mirror image of the Mariners, going 2-8 over the last ten games, which ties them with the Marlins, Pirates, and Rockies for the worst records over that span.