Game Preview: Mariners At Athletics

(AP) - Taijuan Walker had just been recalled by the Seattle Mariners when manager Lloyd McClendon detailed his expectations for the young pitcher prior to a road game against the Oakland Athletics last season.

Walker responded with a strong final month, carried that over to the spring and earned his spot in the Mariners' 2015 rotation.

The 22-year-old takes the mound in Oakland on Friday night looking to help Seattle avoid a third straight loss.

Walker made his season debut June 30 and went 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA in three starts before being sent back to the minors. He got another chance Sept. 1, but not before McClendon had an honest talk with him.

The right-hander allowed one run in six innings of relief that night against the A's and finished 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA in two starts and three relief appearances through the rest of the month.

"I definitely had to come up and prove myself," Walker told MLB's official website. "(McClendon) was expecting a lot of me. That was a big game, and I think that was a turning point for me."

Walker went to spring training focused on making the opening day roster, and his performance gave McClendon no other choice. He went 4-0 with a 0.67 ERA and struck out 26 in 27 innings.

"I'm just going to try to keep the same approach that I did in spring," Walker said. "I don't feel like I have to do more now that we're in the regular season. I'm just going to try to keep it the same, just go out there and attack hitters, not try to be too perfect."

McClendon now looks for Walker to help get Seattle back in the win column after watching his club drop the final two of a three-game set with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Mariners had two hits in Tuesday's 2-0 defeat, then fell behind 5-0 after two innings Wednesday. Brad Miller homered and Kyle Seager hit a two-run shot, but Seattle lost 5-3.

Nelson Cruz, who signed a four-year, $57 million deal in the offseason, went 1 for 11 in the series.

"The guys were really, really grinding out there," McClendon said. "We fought back and just came up a little short. I was very proud of the way we went about our business."

Seattle went 10-9 against Oakland last season as it finished one game behind the A's for the AL's second wild card. The Mariners won five of the last seven road meetings with Oakland, which is coming off a four-game split with Texas to open the season.

The A's couldn't get much going Thursday in a 10-1 defeat after winning 10-0 the previous day. They'll look to bounce back behind Drew Pomeranz, who edged out Jesse Chavez for the last spot in the rotation.

Pomeranz went 5-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 10 starts and 10 relief appearances in his first season with the A's, but he sat out more than two months with a broken hand suffered when he punched a chair after giving up eight runs to the Rangers on June 16.

The left-hander showed manager Bob Melvin enough during camp to put him in the No. 5 slot.

"That's what he's got to realize, too. If he throws the ball over the plate, he's going to be tough to hit," Melvin said during spring training. "His stuff is that good."

Pomeranz went 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA in one start and four relief appearances against the Mariners in 2014.

Updated April 9, 2015