The set-up: Seattle took two of three from the Astros in Houston to open the week and took the opener of this four-game series over the A's 3-2 last night. However, the team's slim chances of reaching the postseason took a hit Thursday night despite the win over Oakland, as Baltimore's victory over Toronto left 85-74 Seattle two games back of the two wild card leaders, the Blue Jays and Orioles. Throwing another wrench in Seattle's postseason plans is the fact that the Tigers check in at 85-73, a record that is half-game better than that of the Mariners. The 67-92 A's nearly staged a ninth-inning comeback last night but fell short. I guess the company line goes, " The A's are not playing for anything other than pride."

The pitching matchup: Raul Alcantara (1-2, 5.75 ERA) starts for Oakland and Taijuan Walker (7-11, 4.35 ERA goes for Seattle. Alcantara is a rookie coming off a 5-0 loss to Texas on Saturday in which he yielded four runs on seven hits over six innings. His 5.75 ERA over four starts is surely nothing to brag about, nor is his 1.33 WHIP or .300 BAA mark. Seattle's Walker opened the season as the team's No. 2 starter but his struggles led to a stint in Triple-A.

The pick: Walker has however, pitched well over his past four starts after changing his mechanics. He's 3-1 since getting shelled in a September 3 loss to the Angels, allowing three runs or less in each of his last four starts. The Mariners have Hisashi Iwakuma (Saturday) and Felix Hernandez (Sunday) set to close out the season, so this could be considered the biggest start of Walker's young career. Oakland suffered its ninth loss in 10 games last night, averaging only 2.5 RPG in that stretch. Walker should be able to hold that lineup in check plus Alcantara gave up just two runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings of a no-decision against Seattle back on September 11. The Under is a 10* play.