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Athletics count on Smith in series finale with Mariners

Jul 10, 2008 - 11:08 AM Seattle (36-55) at Oakland (49-42), 3:35 pm EDT

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- After trading Rich Harden to the Chicago Cubs this week, the Oakland Athletics will need rookie starter Greg Smith to complement Justin Duchscherer more than he already has.

Smith (5-7, 3.62 ERA) will take the mound on Thursday as the Athletics hope to win the finale of a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners.

The 24-year-old righthander, who was part of the eight-player deal that sent Dan Haren to the Arizona Diamondbacks prior to the season, has been surprisingly successful. Control has been a problem, however, as Smith has walked 22 batters in his past six starts, compared to 19 strikeouts.

Oakland won the first two games of the set, holding the lowly Mariners to three runs overall. On Wednesday, it dropped a 6-4 decision after Joe Blanton became the American League's first 12-game loser and matched Matt Keough's 1982 Oakland record for most losses before the All-Star break.

R.A. Dickey (2-4, 4.36) will try to help the Mariners salvage a series split. The righthander, known for his quirky repertoire that includes a pitch he calls "The Thing," is coming off a solid outing against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. Dickey allowed two runs in six innings, but didn't factor in the decision.

Ichiro Suzuki's last 34 hits have all been singles, and he's gone a career-long 114 plate appearances without an extra-base hit.

For the Athletics, Jack Cust snapped out of an 0-for-18 slump with a home run on Wednesday.