| SEASON | CAREER |
| W4 | 4 |
| L0 | 0 |
| G9 | 9 |
| IP51.2 | 51.0 |
| BB10 | 10 |
| SO40 | 40 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W13 | 98 |
| L6 | 73 |
| G28 | 233 |
| IP204.0 | 1592.0 |
| BB48 | 472 |
| SO191 | 1455 |
The Oakland Athletics will be out to avoid their first four-game losing streak in more than three months but have to face one of baseball's top pitchers.
The visiting Athletics have a quality pitcher of their own on the mound Friday night, having unbeaten rookie A.J. Griffin match up with Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez in the opener of a three-game set.
Oakland (76-60) holds one of the AL's wild-card spots, but the Angels moved within 2 1/2 games of their division rivals by sweeping three games this week. The Athletics, who haven't lost four in a row since a nine-game slide May 22-June 1, had won a season-high nine straight before the series with Los Angeles.
Now Oakland will try to regroup on a seven-game trip. The Athletics are trying to win seven in a row on the road for the first time since 2005.
"We're not afraid to play on the road," manager Bob Melvin told the team's official website. "We've had some success on the road. I don't think that's something we're looking at as daunting."
The first game won't be easy against Hernandez (13-6, 2.51 ERA), who lost to the Angels on Saturday for his first defeat since June 12. The former Cy Young Award winner allowed five runs over 7 1-3 innings in a 5-2 loss, giving up four runs in the eighth.
Hernandez, who owns the majors' lowest ERA, went 9-0 with a 1.40 ERA over his previous 14 outings.
"I felt good," he said. "I felt the same. I was throwing the ball pretty good until the eighth. I feel strong."
The right-hander has defeated Oakland more than any club, going 13-5 with a 2.63 ERA in 25 starts. He's 1-1 with a 3.10 ERA in four outings versus the A's this year, with Cliff Pennington - a .207 hitter - surprisingly enjoying the most 2012 success against him by going 5 for 13.
Griffin (4-0, 2.26) figures to be up to the challenge of squaring off with Hernandez in his first career start against Seattle (67-71).
He's the first pitcher in Oakland history to begin 4-0 as a starter. Griffin is the only big-league pitcher since at least 1918 to allow three runs or fewer and walk two batters or fewer in each of his first nine career starts.
The right-hander retired the first 14 batters and yielded one run with no walks over seven innings Saturday to earn a 7-1 victory over Boston.
Seattle, 7-6 in this season series, has won 14 of 21 overall to match last season's victory total as it tries to finish with a winning record.
"It should mean something to them," manager Eric Wedge said. "These guys have worked hard to get better and they are better. And they're going to keep getting better."
The Mariners rank last in the AL with 531 runs while their major league-best 2.87 home ERA would represent the best mark in franchise history. They're 18-4 at home since July 25.
Their offense could receive a boost if a pair of outfielders return Friday from groin injuries. Michael Saunders has been out since last Friday while Franklin Gutierrez missed Wednesday's 2-1 victory over Boston.
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AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPSERAQSSOBBSVBSBAAWHIPE
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Daric Barton | 30 | .267 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | .343 | .676 | .333 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | 7 | .143 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .333 | .619 | .286 |
| Coco Crisp | 42 | .190 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | .244 | .434 | .190 |
| Josh Donaldson | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Jonny Gomes | 9 | .222 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | .273 | .495 | .222 |
| Brandon Inge | 19 | .211 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | .211 | .474 | .263 |
| Kila Ka'aihue | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Cliff Pennington | 34 | .294 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | .314 | .696 | .382 |
| Josh Reddick | 15 | .200 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .200 | .400 | .200 |
| Adam Rosales | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Seth Smith | 7 | .286 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .400 | .686 | .286 |
| Eric Sogard | 9 | .222 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .222 | .444 | .222 |
| Kurt Suzuki | 35 | .314 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 4 | .385 | .899 | .514 |
| Jemile Weeks | 17 | .176 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .222 | .575 | .353 |
 Oakland Athletics |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 06, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Strained right shoulder |
| September 05, 2012 | Brandon McCarthy | Day-to-Day | Left game - head injury |
| September 02, 2012 | Brandon Inge | Day-to-Day | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 18, 2012 | Jordan Norberto | 15-Day DL | Left shoulder tendinitis |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Dislocated right shoulder |
 Seattle Mariners |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 31, 2012 | Michael Saunders | Day-to-Day | Left game - strained groin |
| August 25, 2012 | Michael Saunders | Day-to-Day | Sore groin |
| August 13, 2012 | Mike Carp | 15-Day DL | Strained left groin muscle |
| August 13, 2012 | Mike Carp | 15-Day DL | Strained left groin muscle |
| August 06, 2012 | Brendan Ryan | Day-to-Day | Left elbow contusion |
| July 18, 2012 | Charlie Furbush | 15-Day DL | Strained left triceps |
SEATTLE (AP) -- A.J. Griffin not only felt the burden of trying to end the Oakland Athletics ' three-game losing streak. There also was the weight of heavy hearts over teammate Brandon McCarthy .
McCarthy, the A's 29-year-old pitcher, remained behind in a Bay Area hospital after taking a line drive to the head in Wednesday's game. He suffered an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture and had two hours of surgery to relieve pressure. He is in stable condition.
"He's in all of our thoughts now and we just hope he's OK. It's kind of scary," said Griffin, the rookie right-hander who focused well enough to help the A's beat the Seattle Mariners 6-1 on Friday night.
Griffin allowed one run and six hits in 5 1-3 innings, walking one and striking out seven. George Kottaras hit a three-run homer, Cliff Pennington had a season-high four hits and the A's chased Felix Hernandez after 4 2-3 innings.
Hernandez (13-7) threw 96 pitches in his shortest outing since May 16 when he went 3 2-3 innings at Cleveland. He gave up five earned runs, 11 hits - matching his season high - walked one and struck out four.
It was the second straight loss for the 2010 Cy Young Award winner. He had been 9-1 with a 1.62 ERA in his previous 15 starts since June 17, with five shutouts, including a perfect game on Aug. 15.
"You know as a starting pitcher and you have Felix on the other side, you better be pretty good," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "That puts a little added pressure on the opposing pitcher. I know he'll probably say it doesn't but everyone knows who Felix is, especially the way he's been pitching the last couple months."
Griffin (5-0), in his 10th start this season, has also pitched well the past couple months. He has yet to lose and now has a 3-0 record, a 1.54 ERA, and a .218 opponent batting average in four road starts.
"You just have to worry about your job. You have no control over what (Hernandez) does out there," Griffin said. "I just try to pitch the best game I can, do the best I can, keep us in the game and we did that."
The A's gained a game on Texas in the AL West, now trailing by 4 1-2. The A's, Yankees and Orioles are all within a half-game of each other on top of the wild card standings.
"It was one of those games," Hernandez said. "Every pitch was up. I fell behind a couple of times, well, not a couple, a lot of times and they just made me pay. All my pitches. It was not my day today."
Josh Donaldson drew a one-out walk in the fourth inning and Stephen Drew singled to set up Kottaras' three-run shot, on a 1-1 pitch from Hernandez. It was Kottaras' fourth home run.
"It was down a little bit, like middle in, and he got that one pretty good," Hernandez said.
Melvin said Kottaras' shot was "the type of home run that puts more runs on the board than they actually do. To get to 4-1 against Felix feels like a 10-run homer."
Kottaras said the home run "put us all at ease a little bit."
"Those things (McCarthy's injury) are going to happen," Kottaras added. "You try to turn the page, take one game at a time, the past is the past. We came here and played hard like we always do and put some good at-bats together and came out on top today.
"It's a sad situation. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. We're happy to hear that he's progressing. It's a slow progression, but it's in the right direction."
The A's touched Hernandez for two runs in the fifth. Donaldson had an RBI double into the left-field corner, as Brandon Moss scored from first. Drew followed with a run-scoring single to right, ending Hernandez's night.
The A's pushed across an unearned run in the first. Seth Smith reached on a one-out single. With two outs, Yoenis Cespedes blooped a single to right but Thames overran the ball and Smith was waved home on the error.
The Mariners got that run back in the second. Michael Saunders led off with a single to center. With two outs, Luis Jimenez walked and Saunders scored on Brandon Ryan's single to right.
NOTES: The A's will start Dan Straily on Tuesday to fill the spot in the rotation for injured Brandon McCarthy , who was hit by a line drive Wednesday. Straily, who was with the big club earlier this season, was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. "I think he has been through all the `firsts.' He knows what it's all about up here," Melvin said. "We're not afraid to throw young pitchers out there. We have a lot of young starters in the rotation right now. We'll just add him to that mix." ... The Mariners started CF Franklin Gutierrez and LF Saunders, a rare game in which both played. Each was coming off an injury while Gutierrez has been out most of the season with various injuries. "We've essentially got two center fielders out there, which is nice," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. ... Jimenez, the Mariners' 30-year-old rookie callup, got his major league hit, a single in the fourth.
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Oakland Athletics