Seattle, WA (My Sportsbook) - Barry Zito looks to stretch his American League-leading win total to 23 when his Oakland Athletics try to move closer to securing their first-place finish in the West against the Seattle Mariners tonight in the opener of a three-game series at Safeco Field.

Zito, who is 7-0 in his last eight starts, has the opportunity to match Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson as the only pitchers in the majors to record 23 victories.

The A's own a three-game lead in the AL West over Anaheim, and their magic number has dropped to three for clinching the division title.

On Sunday, Jermaine Dye hit a pair of homers and drove in three runs, as the Athletics posted a 7-5 victory over the Texas Rangers. Oakland won for the fifth straight game.

Scott Hatteberg belted a two-run homer for the Athletics, who tied a single- season record in Oakland with their 54th home win (54-27).

Mark Mulder (18-7) scattered eight hits and allowed three runs over six innings to win his fifth straight decision. The lefthander is 5-0 over his last eight appearances and hasn't lost since August 11 against the Yankees.

Billy Koch threw the ninth inning for his 43rd save, tied for the fourth-most in Oakland history. Dennis Eckersley, who holds the single-season saves record for Oakland with 51 in 1992, also had a 48, 45 and 43-save season. Koch was appearing in his 81st game for a pitcher, tying a franchise record. John Wyatt had 81 for the Kansas City Athletics in 1964.

The Athletics (99-57) need one more win to become the 18th major league team to win 100 games in consecutive seasons.

Seattle comes off a 3-2 win over Anaheim on Sunday. Willie Bloomquist, in just his second major league start, went 4-for-4 with a run scored and two runs batted in.

Ichiro Suzuki added a pair of hits for Seattle, which won its second straight and sixth in its last eight contests. The Mariners stand six games behind Anaheim in the AL wild card race with six games remaining, so they must win out and hope for a complete collapse by the Angels if they want to reach the playoffs.

With his single in the seventh, Ichiro became just the seventh player in major league history to collect at least 200 hits in his first two seasons.

Ichiro is three hits away from setting the record for most hits in the first two seasons of his major league career.

Ryan Franklin (7-4) tossed 7 1/3 innings to get the win. The righthander allowed just two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

John Olerud's sacrifice fly in the sixth gave him 100 RBI on the season, marking the fourth time in his career that he has reached that plateau.

Zito had one of his worst outings in recent memory in his last start, when he allowed four runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings in a 7-4 win against Anaheim on Wednesday. In his two prior starts, he had yielded five hits over 15 scoreless innings. He has not lost since August 8.

Only Bob Welch (27 in 1990), Catfish Hunter (25 in 1974) and Vida Blue (24 in 1971) have won more than 22 games in one season in Oakland history. Also, Zito's 22 wins are the most by an AL lefthander since Frank Viola won 24 for Minnesota in 1988.

Zito faced the Mariners on September 13 and allowed two hits with seven strikeouts through eight shutout innings in a 5-0 win. He is 2-1 with a 5.19 ERA in three starts against the M's this season.

Lifetime, the lefthander is 4-1 with a 3.55 ERA versus Seattle. In 16 starts on the road, he has gone 11-4 with an ERA of 2.92.

Ismael Valdes counters for the Mariners, shooting for his first win since September 1. He has gone 0-1 in his last three starts while allowing seven runs over 19 2/3 innings. On Wednesday, he permitted two runs on seven hits through seven frames in a 3-2 win against Texas. The righthander is 2-2 in six starts since joining the Mariners in mid-August. The Rangers are 3-1 in his last four starts.

Valdes pitched at Oakland on September 13 and was outdeuled by Zito in a 5-0 loss. Valdes allowed three runs on eight hits over seven innings in the losing effort.

For his career, Valdes is 2-3 with a 2.72 ERA versus the A's. This year, he has gone 0-1 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts versus Oakland.

At home, Valdes is 5-5 with a 4.33 ERA in 14 starts.

Seattle leads the season series, 9-7. The Mariners are 4-3 against the A's at home this year.