Series Preview: Seattle Mariners vs. Oakland Athletics

With yesterday's wins by the Royals and Tigers, the Mariners were officially eliminated from the postseason on their day off. All those last-minute improvements didn't pay off and they'll spend the final three days of the regular season playing meaningless baseball against the A's and thinking about what could have been.

The A's just completed their final series in Oakland and will play the final days of this season away from their former home. The end of the M's season was sad and disappointing, but it doesn't begin to compare to the brutality that comes with a team being torn from its homeland. The end of the 2024 season cannot come soon enough.

From a preview of a previous series:

The A's have been shuffling through a lot of young fringe players in hopes of striking gold with a few of them this year, and they've discovered a few gems. Lawrence Butler was the most encouraging breakthrough; He had a WRC+ of 56 through June, but has dropped the numbers significantly to .314/.353/.692 over the past two months with tremendous production and a steady profile at the plate. He joins Brent Rooker as two big players who can solidify this lineup. Jacob Wilson, son of former Mariner Jack Wilson, is a highly regarded prospect who has flown through the farm system thanks to a batting average above .400 in 53 minor league games this year. He has ridiculous bat-handling skills, although he doesn't have the power to really exploit such a profile.

Likely pitchers

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Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

From a preview of a previous series:

JP Sears improved almost all of his peripherals last year, except for the one weakness he's always struggled with: his home run rate. He allowed 34 points in 2023, and that's the main reason his FIP exceeded his ERA and xFIP by more than half a run. To curb long ball issues, he switched his pitch mix this year to use his sweeper as his primary pitch while increasing the usage of his sinker. His flat four-seam fastball will always produce an above-average whiff of air thanks to its shape, but hitters simply crush it when they come into contact with it. The adjustments appear to have paid off; His ERA and FIP are much lower than last year and he has already racked up 1.2 fWAR, doubling his career total.

From a preview of a previous series:

Joey Estes made his season debut against the Mariners in early May and held them to just a single run in five innings, then held them scoreless in a 6.1 inning start a month later. He had a pretty good start to his big league career; He has an excellent strikeout-to-walk ratio thanks to a fantastic walk rate. His fastball is his best pitch with a ton of life in the zone and pretty good control. His secondary performances are average or worse, although his two breaking balls have been promising this year.

From a preview of a previous series:

Mitch Spence was selected from the Yankees entered the Rule 5 Draft this offseason and spent the first month of his major league career pitching out of the bullpen. Injuries to Paul Blackburn, Alex Wood and Ross Stripling forced him into the starting lineup, where he enjoyed some success. He doesn't have overwhelming skills, but he does generate a lot of ground contact thanks to the natural drop at all of the pitches in his repertoire. His sweeping slider is his best pitch, and he also occasionally throws a 12-to-6 curveball to keep left-handed batters at bay.

The big picture:

The Astros clinched the division title on Tuesday and are far enough behind the Guardians in the standings to make their final series in Cleveland meaningless, aside from providing a possible preview of an ALDS matchup. The Angels were narrowly defeated by the White Sox, setting a franchise record for losses in a single season and denying Chicago a chance to make history.