News
Wakamatsu enjoys return to Bay Area
Seattle (72-64) at Oakland (59-76), 6:05 p.m. PT
By Jane Lee / Special to MLB.com
09/05/09 1:12 AM ET
OAKLAND -- Don Wakamatsu never tires of coming to Oakland. The skipper's 11-3 season record against the A's doesn't hurt. But the Mariners manager -- no matter how many times he is asked -- is also always more than happy to talk about his days as a resident of the Bay Area. Wakamatsu, 46, became the first Asian-American to manage in the Major Leagues when he was called upon to take the reins in Seattle in November. But the former Oakland bench coach knows his time in an A's uniform last year enabled him to take such a leap. "The good time I spent here last year with the Oakland A's allowed me to get this job," Wakamatsu said Friday. "The relationships I still have there and the respect I have for the organization is still off the charts." So is his current team's performance against the A's -- which begs the question of whether his knowledge of the ballclub gives him an advantage. "I don't know if it gives me an edge," he said, "but it gives me more of a comfort level that I know the players. "I have a little insight to the ways they think and the styles of the manager. I think I have a comfort level, and the rest is to get the players to play as hard as they can, and play good baseball." Wakamatsu's approach has seemingly worked thus far. The Mariners have a six-game winning streak against Oakland and have won 34 of 52 vs. the A's since the start of the 2007 season. Seattle has the chance to extend that streak to seven Saturday when they take on the A's for the third of a four-game set at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Pitching matchupSEA: LHP Luke French (4-4, 4.62 ERA)
Throwing strikes was a piece of cake for the left-hander in his last start. Of the 96 pitches he threw against the Angels, 66 of them were strikes. The downside of that, however, is that too many of the strikes got too much of the strike zone and he was tagged for 10 hits and seven earned runs over five innings -- the most runs he has allowed since being acquired from the Tigers on July 31. French still needs to change speeds more, which keeps hitters guessing. The Angels were aggressive and French had no answer to get them off-balance. This will be his second start against the Athletics, having beaten them at Safeco Field on Aug. 26. OAK: LHP Brett Anderson (7-10, 4.42 ERA)
Anderson pitched well early against the Angels on Sunday but had a rough fifth inning, when he allowed an RBI double to Chone Figgins and a three-run homer to Torii Hunter. In all, the rookie allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings in a loss to John Lackey. Anderson is 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in three career starts against the Mariners. Sea Scrolls
Carlos Silva, on the disabled list since May 7 with right shoulder inflammation, pitched one inning for Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday and gave up one hit and struck out two. Wakamatsu said Silva will throw again on Sunday and will rejoin the team in Anaheim on Tuesday if the Rainiers are eliminated from the playoffs. If they make the playoffs, though, Silva will have a few more outings with the Triple-A club. ... With the Bay Bridge closed for construction for the Labor Day weekend, the Mariners have been forced to get accustomed to BART, which provides train transportation throughout the Bay Area, in order to travel from Oakland to their hotel in San Francisco. Tickets
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• Sunday: Mariners (Doug Fister, 2-1, 2.94) at Athletics (Gio Gonzalez, 4-5, 6.07), 1:05 p.m. PT
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 14-5, 2.65) at Angels (Scott Kazmir, 8-8, 5.68), 7:05 p.m. PT
Jane Lee is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
