Wed Apr 16 11:00:46 2008

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A's welcome Seattle to McAfee Coliseum

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(Sports Network) - A pair of American League West foes square off for the first time of the young season tonight at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum, where the strong-starting Athletics begin a two-game series with the Seattle Mariners.

Oakland is currently locked in a first-place tie with the defending division champion Angels at 9-6 and had won six times in a seven-game stretch before being shut down by the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. John Danks held the Athletics to five hits over 7 2/3 shutout innings as the Pale Hose earned a split of the two-game set with a 4-1 decision.

Carlos Quentin delivered the game's deciding blow with a three-run homer off A's starter Dana Eveland in the fourth inning. Eveland (1-1) lasted just 4 2/3 innings and surrendered all four Chicago runs (3 earned) while walking three and laboring through 87 pitches.

Emil Brown spoiled the White Sox' shutout bid with a sacrifice fly in the ninth, but Chicago's Bobby Jenks then got Bobby Crosby to hit into a game- ending double play to preserve the win.

Oakland's offense figures to face another tough test in tonight's opener, as the Mariners will send out young standout Felix Hernandez to the hill.

Hernandez could have entered this game with a 3-0 record, but the Seattle bullpen blew late leads in each of his first two 2008 starts, both of which were outstanding. The 22-year-old yielded just one unearned run through 15 innings in those games.

The native Venezuelan wasn't as sharp his last time out, but this time managed to pick up his first win of the year. He was touched for four runs and nine hits over 6 2/3 frames against the Angels on Friday, but struck out a season- best seven batters in Seattle's 8-5 triumph.

Hernandez has dominated Oakland throughout his brief career, having compiled a 5-2 record with a 2.29 earned run average in eight previous starts against tonight's opponent. The right-hander won all four of his matchups with the Athletics last season and gave up a total of four unearned runs in 28 innings over that stretch.

Joe Blanton, who gets the call for the A's tonight, has also been victimized in games that he has pitched well this year. The right-hander wound up on the short end of back-to-back 2-1 losses to Boston and Cleveland before getting a wealth of run support in a 9-7 victory over the Indians last Friday.

Blanton allowed five runs on eight hits over a season-high 7 2/3 frames in that game, but four of those runs came in his final inning of work. He also gave up a home run to Cleveland's Jhonny Peralta during his stint, Blanton's first in 26 innings of work this year.

The Kentucky product has also had good career success against Seattle. In 12 lifetime starts versus the Mariners, Blanton owns a 7-3 record with a solid 3.07 ERA. He went just 1-2 in four encounters with Seattle last year, though.

The Mariners won eight times in nine games at McAfee Coliseum in 2007 and were 14-5 against the A's for the year. It was a different story in 2006, when Oakland didn't lose in nine home games with Seattle and took 17 of the 19 meetings between the division members.