Mariners at Athletics
The American League West is the most competitive division in the American League with four teams at least three games above .500, including the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners. One winning streak is set to come to an end Tuesday, when the Mariners visit the Athletics for the opener of a three-game series.
Seattle earned its third straight victory Sunday by tying the game on Mitch Haniger's two-run homer in the ninth and pushing across the game-winner in the 11th to wrap up a 4-2 homestand. "The heart this club has is pretty, pretty impressive," Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters. "These guys just keep battling through adversity. One thing after another. We've had some injuries, some guys out of the lineup, guys hobbling around out there." Oakland capped a 7-3 road trip through the AL East with a four-game sweep at Toronto by bashing its way to a 9-2 victory Sunday behind a homer and three RBIs from shortstop Marcus Semien. Seattle will try to slow Semien and company with veteran righty Mike Leake while the Athletics counter with Trevor Cahill on Tuesday.
TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), NBCS California (Oakland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Mike Leake (4-3, 6.00 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Trevor Cahill (1-2, 2.79)
Leake followed up one of his best outings of the season with one of the worst in his last two turns. The Arizona State product scattered two earned runs and six hits across seven innings to earn a win at Toronto on May 10 but was lit up for six runs - five earned - on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings against Texas last Tuesday. Leake turned in a quality start at home against Oakland on April 13, allowing three runs and seven hits in six innings, but did not factor in the decision.
Cahill has yet to allow more than three runs in an outing but could not find the win column in any of his last four turns (0-2). The 30-year-old struck out 12 and scattered four hits in six scoreless innings against Baltimore on May 5 only to settle for a no-decision and absorbed a loss at Boston on Wednesday while yielding three runs in five frames. Cahill owns 32 strikeouts and seven walks in 29 innings this season and will be seeing Seattle for the first time in 2018.
WALK-OFFS
1. Athletics OF Khris Davis left Sunday's game with a right groin strain and could be placed on the 10-day DL.
2. Seattle DH Nelson Cruz (elbow) sat out Sunday but is expected to be back in the lineup Tuesday.
3. Oakland 3B Matt Chapman recorded multiple hits in four of the last seven games and is 11-for-24 in that span.