This is a 10* TOP AL TOTAL on the OVER A's/Mariners.

A couple of decent starting pitchers going head-to-head in the opener of this series, but I still expect this total to fly OVER the number in the latter frames.

Seattle lost 6-3 at Colorado last night, while the A's had yesterday off after beating the Angels 6-0 at home.

Sean Manaea is 6-6 with a 3.28 ERA. He's 2-4 with a 3.20 ERA on the road. It's just being in the wrong place at the wrong time for Manaea this evening.

His counterpart is rookie-phenom Chris Flexen, who is 9-3 with a 3.35 ERA. He's been sharp over his last 45.2 innings, posting a 32:9 K:BB, but like his counterpart today, I think that a small amount of regression is in order here.

This is crucial stretch for the Mariners, as it will determine if they're going to be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline.

Seattle plays the Astros after this, so these are the two top teams in the AL currently.

Flexen faced the A's once this year already and allowed five runs as well, easily his worst outing of the season.

The Mariners bullpen is suspect and tired after yesterday's loss in Colorado, which saw them allow five runs in the first inning, which made the unit work extra time.

I say both Manaea and Flexen exit early and I expect that to help in pushing this total OVER sooner, rather than later.

Good luck, NP