Oakland (6-2) at Seattle (2-6)

Superb pitching is a major reason the Oakland Athletics are the surprising early leaders in the AL West, and the Seattle Mariners have experienced it already.

Brett Anderson(notes) could be a key to Oakland being there in October.

Anderson looks to help the A’s to their best start in seven years Tuesday night by beating the Mariners for the second time in a week.

Oakland (6-2) leads the AL with a 2.61 ERA while holding opponents to a .214 batting average. The club’s rotation also boasts two promising young arms in the 22-year-old Anderson (1-0, 0.00 ERA) and 24-year-old Gio Gonzalez(notes), who will start the finale of this three-game series Wednesday.

The A’s got a superb effort from Justin Duchscherer(notes) - the oldest member of the rotation at 32 - in Monday’s 4-0 win at Seattle (2-6). He held the Mariners to two hits in seven innings as Oakland got its first shutout of 2010.

Oakland, which leads the West, hasn’t opened a season 7-2 since 2003, en route to a division crown.

Anderson will try to help the A’s match that feat with another victory over the Mariners. The left-hander was impressive in a 6-2 home win against Seattle on Thursday, scattering three hits in six scoreless innings as Oakland took three of four in the season-opening series.

He’s 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA in five starts against the Mariners since losing his major league debut to them on April 10, 2009.

“He was probably our most consistent guy all spring, and he took that into (Thursday),” manager Bob Geren told the team’s official Web site. “I thought the game a year ago from (Thursday), you can see the improvement he’s made. He was young and talented and good, but now he’s really adding more weapons to his game.

“He’s controlling his fastball, his breaking ball and his changeup on both sides of the plate, which he didn’t do early last year. That part of his game came in the second half, and he showed it in his first start (Thursday).”

The Mariners, who are enduring their worst start since going 1-7 in 2004, are struggling to solve the A’s pitching, hitting .176 after posting a .275 average against them last year.

“We are just pressing offensively,” said right fielder Ken Griffey Jr.(notes), who is 4 for 19 in six games. “We’ll get on track, and the first six, seven games will be forgotten. I’d rather it happen this week than late September.”

Seattle isn’t getting much help from their hurlers either. The pitching staff owns a 4.70 ERA while yielding six homers - three to Oakland - through eight games.

Doug Fister(notes) (0-1, 4.50) is scheduled to take the mound in an attempt to rebound from a short outing opposite Anderson on Thursday. The right-hander labored through 96 pitches over four innings, allowing two runs and six hits with three walks.

“Things didn’t go my way, but it’s something to learn from,” Fister told the team’s official Web site. “They have some good hitters over there and they make you work.”

Fister is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts against the A’s. However, his victory came at home Oct. 1, when he yielded one run and five hits in seven innings of a 4-2 win to defeat Anderson.