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Mariners-Athletics Preview

Sep 8, 2010 - 6:39 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Seattle (55-84) at Oakland (68-70), 10:05 p.m. EDT

The Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners may not have much say in the AL playoff race. However, a pair of young pitchers may have the teams feeling good about their respective futures.

Oakland's Gio Gonzalez and Seattle's Luke French will try to continue their strong stretches when they start in the finale of this three-game set Wednesday night.

The A's (68-70) are second in the AL West, but a seven-game gap behind first-place Texas may be too much to overcome with just over three weeks left in the regular season. The Mariners (55-84) have spent the majority of the year in the division cellar, and fired manager Don Wakamatsu last month.

Both clubs may find some solace in the play of some of their younger players.

Gonzalez (13-8, 3.12 ERA) has been solid in his first season exclusively as a starter, setting career highs in wins while leading the A's with 144 strikeouts.

The left-hander may be building significant momentum toward next year by going 4-1 with a 1.15 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 39 innings over his last six starts. He also allowed just two runs in 13 innings while beating the division-leading Rangers twice in that stretch.

He was in command again Friday, yielding four hits and three walks while striking out six in six innings of an 8-0 win over Los Angeles.

"Control," manager Bob Geren told the team's official website. "Control of everything: fastball, changeup, curveball; control of his own emotions; control of the running game. If there's one word, I'd just say control, multiple facets of it. Just maturity all the way around."

Gonzalez is 2-1 with a 3.93 ERA in seven games - five starts - against the Mariners. Both wins have come in Oakland.

French (4-4, 3.64), who is winding down his second season in the majors, is looking to win three straight starts for the first time.

The left-hander has allowed one run and four in 14 innings en route to home wins over Minnesota and Cleveland. He was outstanding in Friday's 1-0 win over the Indians, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh before giving up a single and exiting after the inning.

"I'm aware of the game but I'm not trying to get a no-hitter by any means," said French, who has a 4.48 ERA in 26 career games - 20 starts - with Detroit and Seattle. "No-hit stuff was not really what I'm going for. I'm going for keeping the team in the game, make my pitches and get better every time out there."

However, French is 1-2 with a 7.04 ERA in three starts against the A's. He lost his only start at Oakland on Sept. 5, 2009 after yielding five runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings of a 9-5 loss.

Seattle is trying to build on its most productive scoring performance since a 9-3 win at Cleveland on Aug. 14. The Mariners' output Tuesday came after they failed to score more than three runs in 11 consecutive games for the second-longest stretch in franchise history.