Mariners vs Athletics Preview: Deep Seattle Rotation Faces Young Oakland

The Mariners came out swinging yesterday and never stopped. They hammered Oakland 9-2, with bats firing from the first inning straight through the final out. Arozarena doubled and homered. Naylor drove in runs with a fielder's choice and scored. Crawford launched a rocket to center field. Raley and Canzone also went deep. Now Seattle brings Emerson Hancock to the mound for round two. The Mariners are 26-29 overall but riding momentum. They won yesterday and want to keep the pressure on.

The Athletics are 27-27 and just took a hard loss. Shea Langeliers can swing it though—he went deep yesterday and is hitting over .350 this season. Nick Kurtz brings young power to first base as a recent draft pick. Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler add speed and strength to the lineup. But Seattle's pitching is elite. Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo anchor a staff that locks down opponents. Gage Jump takes the mound for Oakland today. The Athletics need to generate early runs.

Julio Rodriguez is one of baseball's brightest young stars with three All-Star picks already. He can do damage with power and speed. Randy Arozarena stole a base yesterday and hit a massive 437-foot homer. His fearless running makes him dangerous. Josh Naylor joined Seattle mid-season and quickly became a force. The Mariners want to keep rolling. Oakland needs to scratch and claw for runs early. One strong inning could shift everything in this battle.