As I write this, Ichiro Suzuki has led off the game with a triple, thus ensuring that Jose Vidro's patented groundball to short results in an RBI rather than a double play. Before this series, I wrote that a split of the four games is the best-case scenario, as the A's had their four best starting pitchers lined up against the M's. That result has been reached with some strong starting pitching performances delivered by Jeff Weaver and Felix Hernandez, who tossed eight innings of two-hit shutout ball in yesterday's 4-0 win. The bat of Adrian Beltre has also contributed mightily to the results of the series so far, as in the three games Beltre has batted 7-for-11 for a .636 average, with three home runs and seven RBIs. Beltre's numbers now stand at a .275 average and .489 slugging on the year- getting close to the power numbers expected by a third baseman, if not quite the assumed numbers suggested at the signing of his free agent contract with the Mariners. And he led off the second inning with an infield hit.

So far in this series, the A's have been helped with strong pitching. Rich Harden may have given up four runs in his abbreviated 66-pitch outing in yesterday's ballgame, but he was replaced by Lenny Dinardo, who tossed 6.1 scoreless innings. That followed the three runs allowed in six innings by Dan Haren )who's 0-2 versus the M's, 10-1 against the rest of the league) on Friday, and the two runs allowed in nearly eight innings by Chad Gaudin on Thursday. The glaring problem with the A's is the woefully punchless offensive trotted out to face opposing pitchers in half the game. The team was buoyed by Frank Thomas' strong season last year, who may have single-handedly helped the team to the playoffs. This year the team would be lost without the help of- Jamie Burke? The resurgence of Jack Cust, who has been a prospect since Clinton was still in the White house? No wonder the A's are sinking while the M's are surging, a welcome change to how baseball seasons usually play out in the AL West.

Despite allowing ten runs over 1.1 in his last at-bat, Feierabend hasn't lost his place in the rotation, and it falls on his shoulders if the M's want to take three of four. Feierabend has yet to face the A's prior to this game, but that never seems to work to the M's advantage, and indeed, Feierabend has just allowed the game-tying homerun to Eric Chavez. As for the home team, M's arch-nemesis Joe Blanton (6-2, 2.74 career numbers versus the M's) takes the mound, and considering Beltre has picked up six hits in 29 at-bats, including one home run, against Blanton, then Joe just might be able to defuse Beltre's hot bat.

Any match-up between Blanton and Feierabend, you're going to have to give the nod to Blanton. I don't think the M's will take three fo four, as the A's will come out on top by a 5-3 score....