Oakland @ Seattle preview

Last Meeting ( May 4, 2016 ) Seattle 9, Oakland 8

The Oakland Athletics looked like they were turning things around by sweeping the Texas Rangers to begin the week but dropped right back down with four consecutive losses. The Athletics will try to pick themselves back up when they begin a brief road trip by visiting the Seattle Mariners on Monday.

Oakland earned a three-game sweep at Seattle from April 8-10 but was swept by the Mariners at home earlier in May while beginning the month with losses in nine of 10. The Athletics picked themselves up with wins in five of six against Tampa Bay and Texas but could not come up with the key hits and totaled nine runs while dropping four in a row to the New York Yankees at home over the weekend. The Mariners sit in first place in the American League West and are riding a four-game winning streak after picking on the stumbling Cincinnati Reds over the weekend. Seattle improved to 18-7 on the road with Sunday’s 5-4 win at Cincinnati but is just 8-10 at home.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, CSN California (Oakland), ROOT (Seattle)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics LH Rich Hill (6-3, 2.54 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Taijuan Walker (2-3, 2.95)

Hill has yet to allow more than three earned runs in an outing and is thriving in his first full season as a major league starter since he was with Baltimore in 2009. The Massachusetts native earned his third straight win on Wednesday against Texas, when he surrendered one run on three hits in six innings. Hill started at Seattle on April 9 and struck out 10 over six innings while yielding one run to pick up the win.

Walker is winless in his last four starts and failed to complete six innings in any of those four turns. The 23-year-old is having some trouble keeping the ball in the park with five home runs allowed in 12 2/3 innings over his last three turns. Walker went up against Oakland on April 8 and yielded two runs on seven hits and no walks in six innings but did not factor in the decision.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Athletics placed RHP Sonny Gray (strained trapezius muscle) on the 15-day disabled list.

2. The Mariners placed SS Ketel Marte (thumb) on the 15-day DL.

3. Seattle CF Leonys Martin is 10-for-16 with three home runs in the last five games.

PREDICTION: Athletics 6, Mariners 2