The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will finish up their four-game series on Sunday afternoon. It's time to continue our MLB odds series and make an Athletics-Mariners prediction and pick.

The Mariners have taken two of the first three games of this hugely important series. Seattle is still not completely out of playoff contention, trailing the Houston Astros and the AL East lead by seven games. The Athletics are even closer to the Astros, behind by only 4.5 games. This series has been one of the most important ones of the year for both teams, so the finale should be a hotly contested game.

Here's how the bookmakers have set the lines for Sunday's game.

MLB Odds: Athletics-Mariners Odds

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Oakland Athletics ML (-128)

Seattle Mariners ML (+118)

Over 8 1/2 runs (-121)

Under 8 1/2 runs (+101)

Why The Athletics Could Win

The Athletics have been on a bit of a cold streak at the plate lately, but Sunday's game is a great chance to turn that around against Mariners starter Marco Gonzales.

Gonzales has had a pretty rough year for Seattle. He owns an ERA of 5.69 to go with a WHIP of 1.49 on the season. Both numbers aren't great, but they get worse in Gonzales' last seven starts. In that span, the southpaw's ERA rises to 5.94 with his WHIP also shooting up to 1.62. Oakland should be able to tee off on Gonzales for some early runs.

There are a couple more statistical factors going Oakland's way in Sunday's game. The Athletics hit left-handed pitching slightly better than they do right-handed pitching, seeing their batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS all rise against lefties. Gonzales also consistently walks multiple batters per game, which bodes well for an Oakland offense that ranks just outside of the top 10 in the league in walks drawn.

The Athletics will send out a left-handed starter of their own in this matchup. Cole Irvin is set to take the mound for Sunday's game, something that typically works out well for the Athletics.

Irvin has been solid for the A's this year, posting a 3.42 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP on the season. Those numbers are already pretty good, but they get even better in Irvin's last seven starts. Over that span, Irvin's ERA fell to 2.68 with his WHIP also dropping down to 1.10. The lefty is pitching well of late, and his stats obviously reflect that.

Why The Mariners Could Win

The Mariners don't have many statistical advantages in this matchup, but there are a couple of factors going their way.

Starter Marco Gonzales has faced the Athletics once before in this campaign, pitching four innings of one-run ball. One game obviously isn't a big enough sample size to prove anything, but it's at least a little encouraging that Gonzales has faced the A's and pitched well against them.

Cole Irvin has also faced the Mariners once this season. Seattle managed to tag him for four runs over four innings, handing Irvin the loss in the process. To make things even better for the Mariners, five projected starters in Sunday's lineup hold a career batting average of .300 or higher against Irvin. Seattle may not be the most intimidating offense, but they do seem to hit Irvin well.

Final Athletics-Mariners Prediction & Pick

Despite Seattle's recent success against Cole Irvin, the Athletics are a pretty easy pick here. Oakland should tee off on Marco Gonzales early, and with Irvin's recent hot streak, that early lead could last the whole game. Take the Athletics and lock this pick in.

FINAL PICK: Oakland Athletics ML (-128)