Oakland @ Seattle preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2010 ) Oakland 5, Seattle 3

Dallas Braden will try to get the Oakland Athletics even.

Braden takes the mound for the Athletics on Sunday in search of a four-game sweep of the lowly Seattle Mariners and a .500 record.

Any hopes Oakland had of catching the Texas Rangers ended when the club dropped six straight games through Wednesday and fell to four games under .500.

Behind strong pitching performances by Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson, Oakland is only win away from breaking even for the first time since 2006 and finishing one game ahead of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Gonzalez, Cahill and Anderson combined to allow two runs – one earned – in 21 innings. Seattle has scored just four runs in this series and has been held to two runs or fewer 72 times in 161 games.

Now it’s Braden’s turn to impress and complete the sweep. Braden (10-14, 3.50) is tied for fifth in the American League in losses and Oakland is only 12-17 when he starts, but the 27-year-old will be remembered for a long time because of his perfect game on May 9 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Braden hasn’t been as fortunate of late. Since tossing a four-hitter in a 5-0 win at Texas on Aug. 28, the left-hander is 1-5 with a 4.42 ERA. He was beaten 4-2 by the Angels on Tuesday, allowing four runs and 10 hits in seven frames.

Braden owned the Mariners in his first two starts against them in 2010. He struck out a career-high 10 batters in a 2-1 victory on April 6, allowing one run and seven hits in six innings. He pitched a complete-game four hitter in a 5-1 victory on Aug. 11 before the Mariners reached him for six runs and nine hits in a 7-5 defeat on Sept. 7.

Seattle will hand the ball to Ryan Rowland-Smith (1-10) as the Mariners close out a second 100-loss campaign in three years and fifth overall.

This season has been a total disaster for Rowland-Smith, who showed promise by going 5-4 with a 3.74 ERA in 15 starts in 2009. Nothing has gone right this season for the left-hander.

He has surrendered 137 hits and an astonishing 24 homers and has walked 43 batters in 104 1/3 innings. Rowland-Smith joins Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Ross Ohlendorf and Atlanta Braves right-hander Kenshin Kawakami as the only pitchers in the major leagues this season with one or fewer wins and 15 starts.

Smith’s lone victory this season came on June 20 against Cincinnati. Seattle won 1-0 as Rowland Smith pitched six scoreless innings.

The 27-year-old Australian hasn’t had much luck with Oakland in three starts this season. He’s allowed 14 runs in 14 2/3 innings.