7:05 pm Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics
The Pick Oakland -147 3*
Kazmir, A’s Hope to Take Advantage of Elias and M’s
Scott Kazmir is hot. Roenis Elias is not. The A’s hope for more of the same tonight when Kazmir tries to even up his record versus the M's.
Big Pitching Edge to Kazmir
Kazmir, Oakland Elias, Seattle
** 4-5, 2.79 ERA, 1.20 whip ** 4-5, 4.25 ERA, 1.29 whip
** 1.63 ETA at home ** 4.00 ERA on road
** 2.79 ERA last 3 starts ** 10.29 ERA last 3 starts
** 4-4, 3.35 ERA, 2 shut outs (2014) ** 1-0, 3.18 ERA, 11 1/3 inn (2014)
The A's have a huge advantage in the pitching department. Kazmir's record is much better than indicated - he needs run support. His shoulder issues are gone and his control is excellent. Elias has not been on top of the ball in his recent starts and is also overstriding. This causes the ball to come out without any crispness to it. If Elias can't fix his overstriding problems, he may be in for another bad night.
Seattle's Offense is One of the League's Worst
Oakland Seattle
** 4.5 runs per game at home ** 3.7 runs per game on road
** .266 batting average at home ** .224 batting average on road
** 3.5 runs per game vs LHP ** 3.0 runs per game vs LHP
The A's can make things very rough for Elias by staying patient. They need to make Elias throw strikes, then take advantage of the fat pitches he makes. Watch for them taking the 1st pitch trying to put Elias in the hole.
Oakland's Pen, Not a Good One, Still Out Pitches M's
** Oakland's pen has a 3.70 ERA at home
** Mariners' pen has an ERA of 4.26 on the road
Coach's Conclusion
While the A's seem to have all the edges here, the line hasn't moved much. This may be due to the fact that the A's have had trouble with lefties this year and you can't discount that fact for tonite's game. However, Seattle's offense, ranked 29th in MLB in runs scored and last in MLB batting average can't be expected to do much damage against Kazmir. A patient A's offense should be able to hit Elias and win this one for the home crowd.
The Pick Oakland -147 3*
Thanks and good luck
Coach Fletcher