Very Little Offense vs. Almost No Offense (A's vs. M's)

The A's are coming off being 3-hit last night by Erasmo Ramirez, who powered his way through a terrific 10K outing. They were outhit by the Mariners 7-3, but it's the one hit going over the fence for Seth Smith that counted in the end. Some might have called yesterday's game a snoozefest, but it was a generally tense affair, as Milone used 2 DPs to get out of trouble and recorded all but 5 of his outs in the field.

Today, the A's will throw Travis Blackley out there to see if he can replicate his performance against the Dodgers. He was truly masterful on Thursday, needing only 87 pitches (67 strikes) to mow through the Dodgers, allowing 3 hits and nothing else over 8 innings. The Mariners offense looks something like the Dodgers', so this should be familiar territory for him.

A win today will pull the the A's to only one game under .500, a place they haven't been since 5/23, after a loss to the Angels at home. Here's the lineup that hopes to accomplish that feat:

An interesting 1B choice, for sure. Don't worry though, folks: Brandon Hicks has played 3 whole minor league games there!