Oakland (Gonzalez) -143 at Seattle ( Furbush) O/U 7 
Recommendation: Oakland

Good spot for A’s lefty Gio Gonzalez to snap out of his two game funk as he faces a team that he has defeated four consecutive time heading into today. All of those outings have been quality starts which resulted in a 2.28 ERA. Seattle’s offense has been especially dreadful the past couple of months against left-handed pitching; since June 1st, the Mariners have gone 1-10 versus southpaw starters scoring a total of 18 runs in those 11 games. During this span they own a .186 BA, .236 OBP, .236 SLG and .471 OPS. Seattle’s current batters own a .217 BA and .275 SLP with 0 home runs in 69 at bats against Gonzalez.

The A’s offense has only six total at bats against 25-year-old lefty Charlie Furbush but the rookies’ first two starts in the majors indicate Oakland could be productive in this contest. Furbush’s starts have seen him last less than five innings (7.1 total) in each while yielding 17 base runners and seven earned runs (12 total). Until last night, Oakland had been sizzling at the plate since the All-Star break averaging 6.1 runs per game with a .315 BA and .908 OPS. After being shackled by King Felix last night, expect Oakland to resume their hot offensive play.

Bullpens also tilt in favor of the A’s here as Seattle no longer has David Pauley’s stellar eighth inning pitching to help lock down games and closer Brandon League has worked back-back nights (30 pitches). Oakland meanwhile has their late innings bridge of Grant Balfour and Andrew Bailey rested and ready. Price is in the acceptable range considering the favorable situation Oakland is in so we’ll recommend a play on the A’s to salvage one in this series.