TLDR: Seattle and the Athletics split their last two meetings, and Saturday's game at Sutter Health Park brings back the exact pitching matchup from six days ago — only this time George Kirby is the one looking to even the score.
Seattle and the Athletics close out their season series at Sutter Health Park, running back the same Kirby-Springs pairing from less than a week ago. Both clubs are out of the playoff picture, but the Athletics are working around four season-ending injuries to regular bats while Seattle's absences are concentrated in the bullpen. The board leans heavily toward the Mariners, and sharp money has already found its way to the total.
+Springs just threw 7 scoreless innings vs this same lineup
+Won their last game, gone 3-2 over last 5
−Missing 4 regular bats (Kurtz, Rooker, Soderstrom, Wilson) for the year
−Springs still carries a 6.02 ERA on the season
George Kirby takes the ball for Seattle on Saturday against Jeffrey Springs at 6:40 PM PT, and it's a straight rematch: these two squared off six days ago, when Springs worked 7 scoreless innings and Kirby got touched up for 3 earned runs over 6.2 frames in the loss.
George Kirby
(9-11)·4.33 ERA
Sep 5 vs Athletics
L
6.2IP
3ER
5K
1BB
100P
09/11 Lineup
Jeffrey Springs
(4-14)·6.18 ERA
Sep 5 @ Mariners
W
7.0IP
0ER
6K
2BB
81P
09/11 Lineup
Seattle's pitching depth is already thin — Emerson Hancock is on the injured list and Logan Evans has been out since May, while the bullpen has lost Matt Brash and Nick Davila for the year — so length from Kirby matters more than usual. The Athletics counter with a lineup stripped of Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson, all done for the season, with catcher Shea Langeliers only just starting a rehab assignment.
Both clubs are well outside any playoff picture at this point, but neither is limping in: Seattle has won 2 straight and taken 2 of its last 3 from Texas, while the Athletics have gone 3-2 over their own last 5 and carry a win into the weekend.
The head-to-head has been even so far — Seattle and the Athletics have split their last two meetings — and with the standings not on the line, this one comes down almost entirely to which version of these two shorthanded rosters shows up. Springs' last start against this exact Mariners lineup was about as good as a start gets; Kirby's ERA says the version of him that got roughed up isn't the norm.
Whichever bullpen holds up late is probably what decides it — Seattle is down two relievers for good, and the Athletics are already needing internal fill-ins across the infield and outfield. Neither injury report is likely to change before first pitch, which makes tonight as much a read on depth as on the two arms starting it.
Mariners 5, Athletics 6: Final Score & Odds Recap — Mariners And Athletics Run Back Their Kirby-Springs Duel
