Drew Rucinski, A’s look to avoid sweep against Mariners

Rucinski will look to bounce back after a rough start in his debut.

The Oakland Athletics will try to close out their homestand on a good note when they wrap up a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners. Like most of the season for the Athletics, this series has been frustrating.

The A’s dropped the opener Tuesday 2-1 despite seven no-hit innings from rookie starter Mason Miller. Oakland carried a 1-0 lead into the eighth, but the bullpen was again unable to protect the lead. The A’s got six scoreless innings from JP Sears Wednesday night and entered the ninth with a 2-1 lead only to watch Seattle tie it and then score five in the 10th to win 7-2.

So, after a disastrous start for the rotation, there has been some recent signs of improvement. Right-hander Drew Rucinski will look to add to that improvement Thursday when he makes his second start of the season. A strained hamstring landed Rucinski on the injured list to start the season. He made his Oakland debut April 28 against the Reds and pitched into the sixth inning, but allowed 11 hits and five runs, although only three were earned.

While most of the focus has been on the struggles of the A’s rotation, the bullpen struggled as well and currently ranks dead last in the majors with a 7.07 ERA and -1.9 fWAR.

Right-hander George Kirby will get the start for the Mariners Thursday. Kirby is coming off one of his best outings of the season where he limited the Phillies to four hits and one run over a season-high eight innings. Kirby has allowed two runs or less in four of his five starts this season.

JJ Bleday was promoted to the majors Wednesday and went hitless in his Oakland debut. Brent Rooker is 0-for-7 with a walk and five strikeouts in the series. Esteury Ruiz had two hits and stole two more bases in Wednesday’s loss, giving him 13 for the season which is one behind Ronald Acuña Jr. for the major league lead.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, May 4, 12:37 p.m. PDT

Location: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California

TV: NBCSCA

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: A’s Cast, Bloomberg 960 AM / 103.7 HD2