Mariners vs Athletics Odds, Betting Lines, and Probable Pitchers (August 24)

• The Oakland A’s are home favorites over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday afternoon
• The A’s send Cole Irvin (9-11, 3.57) to the mound to face Mariners hurler Chris Flexen (10-5, 3.65)
• The odds and pitching matchups can be found below with a prediction

The Oakland A’s try to stay in the thick of the American League Wild Card chase — and remain in the  hunt for the AL West title — against the Seattle Mariners at 3:37 pm ET, Tuesday, in the second game of two-game series at RingCentral Coliseum.

Oakland has been up-and-down in August. The club opened the month with a 9-2 record. But manager Bob Melvin’s club has stumbled since, entering Monday’s opener against Seattle going 2-6 after that stretch. Despite a 4-6 mark against the Mariners coming into the series, the A’s are still favored Tuesday afternoon.

The M’s won three of their previous four series heading into this mini-set in the Bay Area and remain within reach of an AL Wild Card berth.

Mariners vs A’s Odds

Odds as of August 23rd at DraftKings.

Probable Pitchers

On the mound, Oakland’s Cole Irvin (9-11, 3.57) faces Seattle’s Chris Flexen (10-5, 3.65).

Just over half (13) of Irvin’s starts (25) this season have been of the quality variety. That includes four of his six post All-Star Game outings. The lefty has won two of his previous three decisions and is coming off a six-inning outing against the White Sox last Thursday, where he allowed seven hits, three earned runs and four walks against only one strikeout in an eventual 5-4 Oakland victory.

Flexen vs Irvin Key Stats

Irvin has been especially efficient this season — only topping the 100-pitch mark twice while racking up 141.1 innings.

The 27-year-old is 4-5 with a 3.72 ERA in 12 home starts in 2021. In 13 day game starts, he has a 4-6 record and 3.81 ERA. Following that win over the Pale Hose last week, Irvin appears to be in a good place.

Cole Irvin said this is the best he's felt since the All-Star break: "Where my arm has been, felt like I was in a dead arm phase after the All-Star break, but I felt really good today."

— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) August 19, 2021

As for Flexen, the 27-year-old East Bay native is 0-2 with a 5.56 ERA in two career starts at the Coliseum — only 25 miles up the road from where he grew up. The Seattle starter is in a similar position to Irvin, with just over half of his starts (12 of 23) being quality ones. Three of his last four starts have been of the quality vintage, and the M’s have won all three of those games. He went seven innings last Thursday against Texas, allowing four hits, an earned run and a walk while striking out five in a 9-8 Mariners victory.

The big right-hander is 4-1 with a 4.92 ERA in ten starts on the road in 2021. He’s 2-0 with a 3.30 ERA in five day game starts.

Most AL starts going 7+ innings allowing 1 ER or fewer:

1. Chris Flexen- 6
Chris Bassitt- 6
Zack Greinke- 6

— Gary Hill Jr. (@GaryHillJr) August 19, 2021

Wild, Wild West

With the A’s being in postseason contention once again, Oakland General Manager David Frost knew he had to make some moves at the trade deadline. One of those deals, acquiring Starling Marte from the Marlins, has paid dividends since July 31st — and especially in the last week. Marte is 8-for-23 (.348) in the last six games prior to Monday’s action, including four double and six stolen bases. That rate of theft on the basepaths hasn’t been seen since a certain Hall of Famer roamed the Oakland outfield.

Starling Marte is the first @Athletics player to steal 15 bases in a 21 game span since Rickey Henderson in 1992. pic.twitter.com/v22TzbctQi

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 21, 2021

On the Mariners side of the ledger, there’s two players to watch Tuesday. Second baseman Ty France is 10-for-24 (.417) with three home runs and seven RBI with an OPS of 1.256 entering Monday. And third baseman Kyle Seager is 7-for-25 (.280) with three dingers and eight RBI with an OPS of 1.028 ahead the first game of the two-game set.

Kyle Seager has 13 home runs since the All-Star Break, most in the American League.

Seager has a team-leading 29 HR & 82 RBI this season.

— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) August 22, 2021

Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers

While it’s a relatively small sample size for A’s hitters against Flexen (a combined 8-for-30 for a .267 batting average and four doubles), the Mariners have feasted on Irvin. The probable Seattle batters for Tuesday who have faced him (including Jake Bauers) have gone a combined 10-for-25 (.400) against the lefty.

Mariners vs A’s Pick

With the pitchers mostly canceling each other out, I’m deferring to the recent success — and success against the starting pitcher — and fading the home team in this spot. Seattle has a winning record against Oakland this season and possess hitters who have had more success against Irvin than their A’s counterparts have against Flexen.

The Pick: Mariners moneyline (+130)