Perhaps you were one of those misguided, hopeful fans, excited about the mariners stretch of dominance, and thought that the M's could take at least one game in the three game series versus the A's. Honestly, you should've known better.

As much as the Mariners "own" the Angels, the A's have been able to smack the M's around and force the M'sto call the A's their daddy the past couple of years. Being swept by the A's after sweeping the Angels brings the road trip to a 3-3 finsih, as they return to the Safe for an abbreviated home stretch, playing three games against the San Francisco Giants.

If there is one solace for Mariners fans about the A's knocking the M's about the past couple of years, is that it hasn't made a lick of difference in the over-all standings in the AL West. Sure, the Mariners may have been 14-23 as whipping boys versus the A's in 2004 and 2005, but the A's were unable to ride that dominance over a divison rival to a title. In fact, the last time the A's won a divison crown, in 2003, the Mariners won 12 of 19 games between the two- the third straight year that the M's had won in double figues against Oakland.

Still, while that fact might be nice, it's still not going to justify getting swept by Oakland.

Adrian Beltre went 1-for-4 in Saturday night's 7-2 loss (I almost called it- predicting 7-3!) while Sexson went 0-for-2. Yesterday, Beltre went 0-for-3 with a run and a ribbie, while Sexson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. This gives credence to the theory that both Adrian and Sexson need to get a hit in a game if the Mariners are going to win. Adrian Beltre's average stands at .231, which it seems to be more often than not this year, and I wouldn't be surprised if he finishes the year with that batting average.

Tonight is the first game of the Giants series, and the Marienrs face left-hander Noah Lowry. As he's a leftie, a loss for the M's is basically assured. Beltre is 1-for-3 in his career versus Lowry, so he might pop off a single.