This is an 8* on OAKLAND

Oakland (82-70) is now behind Seattle (83-69) in the Wild Card race after losing the first three games of this series. It’s now eight straight losses to the Mariners going back to late July. But, in a must win spot Thursday, we like the A’s to bounce back. They welcome back Chris Bassitt, the team leader in wins, to the mound this afternoon. Bassitt was leading the entire American League in wins when he took a line drive off his face last month. Five weeks later he’s back and we’ve got reason to believe he’ll pitch well here. Seattle doesn’t hit well, even though they’ve been winning in this series. Bassitt wasn’t just leading the American League in wins at the time of his injury, he was also first in innings pitched and starts. So he’d been the real workhorse of this staff. The A’s are below .500 since losing him. But he’s back now. Seattle’s Yusei Kikuchi has not won since August 3rd, which was nine starts ago. His last three starts have been exceptionally poor with 10 runs allowed in just 9.6 innings. Can’t see the A’s being swept in a four-game series at home. Despite their winning record, the Mariners have been outscored by 54 runs in 2021. Play on OAKLAND

AAA