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May 17, 2010 - 1:35 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Seattle (14-22) at Oakland (18-19), 10:05 p.m. EDT

The Oakland Athletics have had problems scoring during a season-worst five-game losing streak. The Seattle Mariners have had those problems all season.

The two lowest scoring teams in the AL in the month of May open a two-game set Monday night when the Athletics host the Mariners.

Oakland (18-20) has produced five runs during its current skid and 41 this month, better only than Seattle's 39 in May among AL clubs. The Mariners (14-23) have scored 121 overall this season - fewest in the league. Oakland is also the only AL club that has not homered more than twice in a game.

The Athletics were shut out twice in three games at the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend, losing 4-0 on Sunday. The last time Oakland was held to five runs over a five-game stretch was Sept. 8-12, 1979.

Meanwhile, Seattle owns the second-worst batting average in the league at .231 and is near the bottom of the majors with runners in scoring position at .234. The Mariners went 2 for 21 in RBI situations and scored a total of seven runs over the weekend while losing two of three at Tampa Bay, including a 2-1 defeat Sunday.

"Whether it be 1-0 or 10-2, we've got to find a way to score more runs than our opponents," designated hitter Mike Sweeney told the Mariners' official website. "It's the key to this game. We've been struggling to do that."

Sweeney has homered in three straight games, but sat out Sunday. Manager Don Wakamatsu said the slugger was dealing with a back injury, although Sweeney claimed he was available.

Oakland won four of seven meetings against Seattle in April. The A's did a good job against Ichiro Suzuki, who is 5 for 28 with two runs scored in the season series.

Seattle has lost both games against Oakland this season started by Ryan Rowland-Smith (0-3, 6.44 ERA), who went 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA in those outings. Rowland-Smith has compiled an 11.05 ERA while losing his last two starts, failing to pitch past the fifth inning both times.

The Australian left-hander lasted three-plus innings and yielded three runs Wednesday in a 5-2 loss at Baltimore.

"I have been pitching with a chip on my shoulder for as long as I've been pitching, like nothing else matters and there's nothing to lose. I haven't been doing that this year," Rowland-Smith said. "I need to get back to that. There have been some bumps in the road. I'm pretty close to being in a survival mode at this point."

Oakland's Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 4.08), who will oppose Rowland-Smith, has also dropped his last two starts, posting a somewhat more respectable 5.73 ERA in them. Gonzalez gave up four runs over four-plus innings Wednesday in a 10-1 loss at Texas.

The left-hander allowed two runs over 4 2-3 innings in a 4-2 loss to the Mariners on April 14, though he didn't receive a decision. He's 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in four career starts against Seattle.