Oakland @ Seattle preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 27, 2011 ) Oakland 7, Seattle 0

THE STORY: Oakland sends ace Gio Gonzalez to the mound in an effort to close the season with back-to-back wins when it plays its 2011 finale at Seattle on Wednesday night. The A's blanked the Mariners on Tuesday, 7-0, riding seven shutout innings from Trevor Cahill as well as home runs from Josh Willingham and Scott Sizemore.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, Comcast Sports (Oakland); ROOT Sports (Seattle)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics LH Gio Gonzalez (15-12, 3.25 ERA) vs. Mariners LH Anthony Vasquez (1-5, 8.89 ERA)

With the exception of a rocky outing against Kansas City on Sept. 6, Gonzalez has been fantastic this month, allowing just four runs in 28 innings (1.29 ERA) in his other four starts. Gonzalez hopes to avoid the type of struggles he endured in his last start in Seattle, where he allowed six runs on 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings of an Aug. 3 loss. Walks have been an issue for Gonzalez, who has allowed more free passes (88) than any AL pitcher.

Vasquez has had a rough time since winning an ugly big league debut on Aug. 23, losing his last five outings. He survived a total of 6 1/3 innings in back-to-back starts against Texas Sept. 17 and 23, allowing 10 runs on 14 hits. Home runs have been the biggest issue for Vasquez, who has served up 12 deep balls in just 27 1/3 innings. This will mark his first career appearance against Oakland.

ABOUT THE ATHLETICS (73-88): Oakland has an opportunity to win its final two series of the season despite a lineup that had managed just 21 runs in eight games before busting loose on Tuesday. The seven runs scored were the most put up by the Athletics in one game since Sept. 10. Oakland, which is 4-1 against Seattle in September, ranks 12th in the American League with 643 runs scored.

ABOUT THE MARINERS (67-94): Tuesday's defeat was a microcosm of the second half of the year for Seattle — a young pitching staff that has faded in the second half yielded seven runs in the first five innings, and the least productive offense in baseball (556 runs) managed just four hits against Cahill and the Athletics. RF Ichiro Suzuki is the only player on the roster with more than 108 hits this season.

FINAL PITCH: Oakland has burdened a solid pitching staff with shaky defense — the Athletics have committed 124 errors this season, most in the American League.