Seattle faces Oakland, looks to build on Kikuchi's strong outing
Oakland Athletics (49-40, second in the AL West) vs. Seattle Mariners (38-54, fifth in the AL West)
Seattle; Saturday, 10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Chris Bassitt (5-3, 3.81 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 72 strikeouts) Mariners: Marco Gonzales (9-7, 4.39 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 76 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Seattle heads into the matchup after a strong showing by Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi went seven innings, surrendering two runs on four hits with five strikeouts against Oakland.
The Mariners are 18-26 against AL West opponents. Seattle has hit 156 home runs this season, second in the majors. Daniel Vogelbach leads the club with 20, averaging one every 13.5 at-bats.
The Athletics are 21-21 against AL West Division teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Domingo Santana leads the Mariners with 63 RBIs and is batting .281. J.P. Crawford is 10-for-41 with two doubles, two triples, two home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Seattle.
Chapman leads the Athletics with 21 home runs and is batting .261. Matt Olson is 12-for-42 with a double, five home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Oakland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Mariners: 3-7, .215 batting average, 3.77 ERA, outscored by eight runs
Athletics: 8-2, .239 batting average, 2.64 ERA, outscored opponents by 28 runs
Mariners Injuries: Arodys Vizcaino: 60-day IL (shoulder), Sam Tuivailala: 60-day IL (achilles/shoulder), Hunter Strickland: 60-day IL (lat), Connor Sadzeck: 10-day IL (elbow), Felix Hernandez: 10-day IL (shoulder), Brandon Brennan: 10-day IL (shoulder), Chasen Bradford: 60-day IL (forearm), Mitch Haniger: 10-day IL (testicle), Braden Bishop: 10-day IL (neck), Ryon Healy: 10-day IL (back).
Athletics Injuries: Sean Manaea: 60-day IL (shoulder), Daniel Gossett: 60-day IL (elbow), Marco Estrada: 60-day IL (lumbar strain), Jharel Cotton: 60-day IL (elbow/hamstring), Stephen Piscotty: 10-day IL (knee), Nick Hundley: 10-day IL (back).
