Seattle's 'Big Dumper' vs. A's 'Big Amish' as Mariners Head to Sacramento

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, or "The Big Dumper" as he is affectionately named, hit his 40th home run of the season Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels. Not only did it put him atop the MLB home run leaderboard, he also achieved another incredible feat. His 133 career home runs moved him past Ken Griffey Jr. for the most by a Mariner in his first five MLB seasons.

But there's another player with a catchy nickname, in green and gold, who's also been making headlines this week.

Nick Kurtz, or the "The Big Amish" as he has been nicknamed due to his Pennsylvania roots and butter churning celebration, will kick off the second-half at Sutter Health Park to quite a bit of fanfare after his historic night in Houston. It's mind-boggling to think it could get any more exciting to watch Nick Kurtz play, as he's been drawing a lot of attention at home all season long due to his late-inning heroics.

The young core of the A's has been impressing and grabbing headlines for months now, from Rookie of the Year candidate and All Star Jacob Wilson to Lawrence Butler, Denzel Clarke and a slew of others. The awards they've collected like Electric Play of the Week, Player of the Month, Rookie of the First Half, etc. are a symbol of achievement for the A's coaches, staff and front office.

The fans have been quick to embrace these players and their personalities, and have shown their support in the ballpark and around the city of Sacramento. In other words, if you haven't been paying attention to what's happening in Sacramento, you may want to familiarize yourself with some of these young stars in the making.

Brent Rooker will also receive a nice welcome back home, since it'll be his first time in West Sac since his Home Run Derby appearance and "swing off" round in the All-Star Game. He'll be seeing friendly foe Cal Raleigh once again, who beat him by a literal hair to make it through to the next round of the derby. Although Rooker was a good sport about it, there has to be a little extra competitiveness this series between the two sluggers and motivation to hit the long ball.

With the trade deadline looming, what will the A's and Mariners rosters look like by the end of the series? If the A's end up trading one of their starting pitchers, or a position player, we may see some moves and interesting lineups in the coming days.

The Mariners have already made a move, acquiring veteran first baseman Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks and sending two of their top pitching prospects LHP Brandyn Garcia (No. 13 prospect) and RHP Ashton Izzi (No. 16) to Arizona.

The Mariners, after having played here earlier this year, will be more familiar with how the field plays, with just a bit more at stake now that they've positioned themselves in second-place in the AL West and in the mix for one of the Wild Card spots.

The A's will begin the series by sending JP Sears to the mound, who is looking for his eighth win of the year. Right-hander Luis Castillo, who is 7-6 with a 3.30 ERA, will take the mound for Seattle. First pitch is at 7:05 PDT.