Seattle @ Oakland preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 2, 2014 ) Seattle 6, Oakland 5

A high-octane pitching matchup takes center stage when the Oakland Athletics host the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday in the finale of a three-game series. Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, a 13-game winner who is second in the American League with a 2.23 ERA, squares off against Oakland left-hander Jon Lester, a fellow 13-game winner who ranks fourth in the AL with a 2.55 ERA. Despite their gaudy numbers, each pitcher is attempting to halt a three-start winless drought.

Losers of five of their last six, the Athletics trail the first-place Los Angeles Angels by 4 1/2 games in the American League West while division rival Seattle is 1 1/2 games back of Detroit for the second wild card. Oakland has some reason to be encouraged, scoring 11 runs in the first two games of the series after mustering only four runs in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Angels. The Mariners are an AL-best 38-27 away from home entering the third of a seven-game road trip.

TV: 3:35 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports (Seattle), CSN California (Oakland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Felix Hernandez (13-5, 2.23 ERA) vs. Athletics LH Jon Lester (13-9, 2.55)

Hernandez's recent swoon followed a stretch in which he set a major-league record with 16 consecutive starts of at least seven innings pitched and two earned runs or fewer allowed. He is coming off a disastrous start, coughing up a career-high four homers among 10 hits in a loss to Washington. Fernandez surrended a season-high 11 hits in Oakland on May 7 but beat the Athletics with eight innings of two-run ball on July 11 to improve to 18-7 lifetime against them.

Lester has pitched better than Hernandez during his dry spell but has nothing to show for it after permitting a total of three earned runs and 11 hits over 13 innings in back-to-back starts against the Angels. Lester, who grew up just outside Seattle, is 4-3 with a 3.99 ERA in 10 career starts versus the Mariners - all with Boston. He's been outstanding in three home starts since joining Oakland, going 2-0 and yielding four runs in three turns.

WALK-OFFS

1. Mariners CF Austin Jackson, who has hit safely in 12 of 13 games, is 7-for-18 against Lester.

2. Athletics DH Adam Dunn is 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs in two games since he was acquired from the Chicago White Sox.

3. Mariners RHP Fernando Rodney is the third closer in franchise history to record 40 saves in a season.

PREDICTION: Athletics 3, Mariners 2