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Athletics-Mariners Preview

Aug 26, 2009 - 6:47 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Oakland (55-70) at Seattle (65-61), 10:10 p.m. EDT

Ichiro Suzuki may be hurt, but the Seattle Mariners are doing just fine. A series with the last-place Oakland Athletics also helps.

The Mariners look to make it three wins in three games without their superstar right fielder when they host the Athletics on Wednesday night.

Suzuki, third in the majors with a .359 batting average, had been nursing a tight calf for some time before exiting Sunday's 6-1 loss at Cleveland in the ninth.

The Mariners, though, have won both games without their nine-time All-Star, beating Oakland 4-2 on a walk-off homer by Ryan Langerhans in the 10th inning Tuesday after winning 3-1 a night earlier.

Seattle (65-61) has won 11 of the last 14 meetings with the A's (55-70), and will attempt to complete a sweep without Suzuki, who has been ruled out for Wednesday. He's 16 hits shy of becoming the first player in major league history with nine consecutive seasons of 200 or more.

"I would not count on him (Wednesday)," manager Don Wakamatsu said. "I think we all want him to accomplish the same thing. That's the goal. But we want to keep him on the field when we get him back.

"We've just got to make sure that on the first ball he hits he doesn't pop (the muscle)."

With Suzuki out, Wakamatsu is expected to bat Franklin Gutierrez leadoff for a third consecutive game. The center fielder has five hits, two runs, two walks and a stolen base in the last two games after going 3 for 22 in the previous six while being shuffled between second and fifth in the order.

"Yeah, I sit there starting with an 'I' - and then I go blank for a while," Wakamatsu said of not being accustomed to writing a different name in the leadoff spot.

Gutierrez is batting .341 with two homers in 21 career games batting leadoff. He's second on Seattle with a .291 average this season, while adding career highs of 14 homers and 52 RBIs.

The Mariners give the ball to rookie Luke French (3-3, 3.83 ERA), who is looking to build on a quality outing.

The left-hander allowed three runs and eight hits with six strikeouts in six innings of a 9-4 win at Cleveland on Friday. That came six days after he gave up four unearned runs in six innings of a 5-2 loss to New York.

French has no record while throwing three scoreless innings of relief in two games against Oakland. Those appearances came in two home victories in May, prior to him entering the Mariners' rotation.

The A's, losers of five of seven, will turn to Gio Gonzalez (4-4, 5.78), who's lost his last two starts while surrendering nine runs and three homers in 10 2-3 innings. That's in stark contrast to the left-hander's previous four starts when he went 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA, winning the last two by throwing 12 2-3 scoreless innings.

Gonzalez labored through 102 pitches Friday, allowing three runs and four hits, including two homers, while striking out a career-high nine and walking four in 5 2-3 innings of a 3-2 loss to Detroit.

"I felt strong, positive," Gonzalez said. "I wanted to keep going after them, keep throwing strikes. When you throw the ball over the plate, some guys will hit it."

He has no record with a 3.46 ERA in three games - one start - against Seattle.