We wonder if Mark Kotsay might be a bit hesitant to go to his bullpen tonight after his A's relievers twice couldn't hold a late-innings lead on Thursday. Luis Severino, however, worked six shutout innings in his A's debut, and Jeffrey Springs gets his first start for Kotsay vs. a Mariners offense that labored most of the night vs. Severino. Note Seattle's Luis Castillo has a 1.97 ERA in his last five starts vs. the A's. Play A's-Mariners Under.

Don't want to make grand proclamations after one day, but Seattle is what I think we thought it would be: Can pitch but not hit. But the M's did just enough to cash Thursday, and until the A's show me they can win away consistently we have to fade them again. Luis Castillo starts tonight for the M's. He had a 2.77 ERA last year vs. the A's, was much better at home overall and looked pretty good this spring. Seattle was above .500 vs. lefties last year and faces one tonight in new Athletic Jeffrey Springs. Good pitcher but tends to get hurt and might be one of those guys that the pitching-wizard Rays simply worked wonders on and fails elsewhere (Chris Archer).

The A's are a competent MLB baseball team and have the better lineup here and I don't think it's all that close. Most of their key guys - Bleday, Brown, Butler, Langeliers,- have hit Luis Castillo well, and Castillo ain't what he used to be. Jeffrey Springs has a career 2.89 ERA vs the M's (18 2/3 IP). Seattle's lineup has holes and compiled a .624 OPS (29th in MLB) vs lefties at home last season. A's pen remains the real deal. They're going to surprise some people and I love them to go over their win total.