A’s soar while Mariners are flopping
Oakland has won four straight, holds playoff position right now
The All-Star break did nothing to alter the trajectory of the A’s or the Seattle Mariners.
The A’s open a two-game homestand tonight against their AL West rivals having won four in a row and 10 of 12 overall to remain in the thick of the wild-card race. The last-place Mariners arrive in the Bay Area having lost four in a row and seven of eight overall.
Four months ago the teams appeared headed in vastly different directions after the Mariners swept a two-game series from the A’s in the season-opening series in Japan.
Seattle clobbered its way to a 13-2 mark, though thoughts of ending the longest active playoff drought in professional sports quickly were dashed. The Mariners are 25-56 since — and winless since the All-Star break. They were no-hit by the Angels in the first game back on a night Los Angeles honored their late teammate, Tyler Skaggs.
The A’s completed a weekend sweep of the White Sox and are 34-16 since May 16 to remain at the front of the wild-card race, and entering Monday they only trail division-leading Houston by six games.
Despite the success the A’s figure to be on the lookout for rotation help. Veteran right-hander
Homer Bailey arrived in a trade from the Royals and will make his A’s debut Wednesday against former A’s left-hander Tommy Milone, but the re-emergence of Daniel Mengden had already helped solidify the starting staff.
Mengden, who faces Mariners ace Marco Gonzales in today’s series opener, is unbeaten in three starts since joining the rotation on June 26 when Frankie Montas was suspended for PEDs.
Mengden (4-1, 4.73) struggled with his command early in the season, walking 15 in 23 innings before being demoted to Triple-A in early June. He’s been Greg Maddux-esque since his return, walking just one in 17 innings (with 12 strikeouts) over his past three starts.