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Athletics-Mariners Preview

Apr 12, 2010 - 1:10 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Oakland (4-2) at Seattle (2-4), 6:40 p.m. EDT

The Seattle Mariners opened this season by dropping three of four on the road to the Oakland Athletics, and their fortunes haven't improved much since then.

The Mariners hope things will change as they kick off their first homestand of 2010.

Facing Oakland there has usually helped, and Seattle goes for its eighth straight win over the A's at Safeco Field on Monday.

Thought to be among the contenders in the AL West, the Mariners (2-5) haven't appeared that way through the season's first week. Injuries to starting pitchers Cliff Lee and Erik Bedard haven't helped, but it's Seattle's hitters who can take much of the blame for the slow start as they've produced 21 runs and batted .230.

Among those are Milton Bradley, off to a 1-for-21 start, and he was replaced in the cleanup spot by Franklin Gutierrez in Sunday's 9-2 loss in Texas. Gutierrez is batting .444 and is the only Seattle starter hitting over .300.

The volatile Bradley has also courted more controversy by reportedly making an obscene gesture toward heckling Rangers fans in a 6-2 defeat Friday night.

"Somebody said there's some video of it," manager Don Wakamatsu told the team's Web site on Saturday. "Once I see that, we'll obviously talk."

In his first season, Wakamatsu was 48-33 at home, and the Mariners helped themselves by winning eight of nine there over the A's in 2009. They've lost only once in the past 13 home meetings with Oakland since Aug. 24, 2008.

Seattle has also won four of its five previous home openers against the A's.

"I think getting back home will be good," Wakamatsu said. "Some of these guys haven't seen our ballpark yet, that's how early it is."

Ryan Rowland-Smith (0-0, 5.40 ERA) will try to help Seattle to another victory in his second start. The left-hander allowed four runs and eight hits over five innings in Oakland on Wednesday but did not receive a decision in a 6-5 loss.

He will be opposed once again by right-hander Justin Duchscherer (0-0, 7.94), who will make his second start since Aug. 18, 2008. He missed last season with an ailing back, elbow surgery and clinical depression.

Duchscherer allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings. Kurt Suzuki's RBI double in the ninth helped lift Oakland to the win.

The catcher took a break for the first time this season Sunday, but the A's continued their strong start by pulling away for a 9-4 victory over Los Angeles. After falling behind 3-1, they scored eight runs over the final three innings, and Adam Rosales hit the go-ahead single after homering earlier in the game.

Rosales, who played the previous two seasons in Cincinnati, also drove in four in his Oakland debut.

The win allowed the A's (5-2) to earn back-to-back series victories to open this season for the first time in four years. They haven't won their first three series since a run of four straight to begin the 2004 campaign.

"We feel like we can compete with anybody, and we stack up well against the entire division," pitcher Dallas Braden said. "It's a great way to start the season. We're just full of confidence right now."