Seattle @ Oakland preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 5, 2015 ) Seattle 8, Oakland 3

Seattle and Oakland continue to play out the string in their disappointing seasons when the visiting Mariners go for a three-game sweep Sunday as the Athletics sink to a level they haven't experienced in 18 years. Oakland (58-78) is 20 games below .500 for the first time since 1997 - when they finished 65-97 - and pitching is a big reason why, as its starters are 2-13 with a 5.76 ERA over the last 23 contests.

The Athletics have allowed 34 runs during their four-game slide - the latest loss being an 8-3 setback on Saturday - while the Mariners have scored 34 runs during their four-game winning streak and are 6-3 on their 10-game road trip. Seattle's Kyle Seager is 17-for-34 with four home runs, 11 RBIs, nine runs scored and six walks during his eight-game hitting streak, going 5-for-8 in the first two games of the set while helping Seattle improve to 11-4 in the season series. Nelson Cruz, whose 39 home runs trail only Baltimore's Chris Davis (40) in baseball, missed his third straight game Saturday because of a quad injury, but manager Lloyd McLendon said his slugger is 50-50 to play Sunday. Seattle's Hisashi Iwakuma looks to avenge a rough outing against Oakland two turns back as he opposes Sean Nolin, who makes his first start with the Athletics and third major-league appearance.


TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), CSN California (Oakland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Hisashi Iwakuma (6-3, 4.22 ERA) vs. Athletics LH Sean Nolin (NR)

Iwakuma struggled with his command while allowing two runs, seven hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings of a 7-6 victory over the White Sox in Chicago on Aug. 29. The 34-year-old Tokyo native has yielded fewer than three runs in eight of his last 10 starts - with one exclusion an 11-5 loss to Oakland on Aug. 24, when he permitted seven runs in 4 2/3 frames. That outing dropped Iwakuma to 4-5 with a 4.78 ERA in nine appearances (eight starts) versus the Athletics.

Nolin was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday after going 2-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) covering 47 1/3 innings while missing all of July and the first half of August because of a groin injury. The 25-year-old New York native and sixth round draft pick by Toronto in 2010 was part of the Josh Donaldson trade in November. Nolin pitched twice for the Blue Jays, allowing a run in an inning of relief in 2014 against Seattle and yielding six runs and seven hits in 1 1/3 frames of a 10-6 loss to Baltimore on May 24, 2013 in his only major-league start.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Mariners, whose winning streak matches a season high, have homered in 13 straight games after belting a pair Saturday - including rookie SS Shawn O'Malley's first career blast - while Oakland has gone deep in 11 consecutive contests.

2. Athletics C Stephen Vogt (elbow), who was scratched from Friday's starting lineup but later singled as a pinch hitter, went 2-for-4 with a run scored Saturday.

3. Seattle LF Franklin Gutierrez (groin) did not play Saturday after leaving Friday's game after one inning.

PREDICTION: Mariners 3, Athletics 2