By Matthew T. F. Harrington

AP photo: Oakland A’s hitter Bruce Maxwell goes down for the count after facing Seattle M’s pitcher Taijuan Walker as the A’s drop game two of the four game series on Friday night at Safeco Field

The Oakland Athletics had the opportunity to play spoilers Friday night at Safeco Field but the desperate Seattle Mariners clung to their Wild Card hopes on the strength of the long ball. The M’s took starter Raul Alcantara deep four times including a pair of homers from Most Valuable Player dark horse candidate Robinson Cano to top the A’s (67-93) 5-1. Ryon Healey hit his 13th homer of the year for Oakland.

The Mariners (86-74) entered play two games back of Toronto for the second Wild Card spot, but a loss at the hands of the Boston Red Sox for the North allowed Seattle to creep within a game with a pair left.

Seattle would achieve the feat by crushing the rookie Alcantara in the first three innings. Cano launched his first homer of the game, a two-run shot, to put Seattle up 2-0 after one. Norichika Aoki would hammer Alcantara in the second with a solo shot while Cano and Nelson Cruz would go back-to-back in the third.

Cano opened the inning by launching his 38th dinger over the 401 marker in center field. Cruz followed suit, but center fielder Jake Smolinski tried to rob him at the wall. The ball bounced off the yellow line on the fence, with the umpires signaling home run. After replay review , the call was upheld for a 5-0 Mariners lead signaling the end of Alcantara’s outing without recording an out in the third.

While Seattle rocked Alcantara (1-3, 7.25 ERA), their starter Taijuan Walker (8-11, 4.22) proved baffling to the A’s while picking up the win. He pitched six innings while allowing only two hits including the Healey solo shot in the sixth. Healey would take Walker to the opposite field on a 1-1 pitch to make it 5-1 Mariners.

The Mariners turn to Hisashi Iwakuma Saturday to keep hopes alive while the A’s look to spoil the party by sending Jharel Cotton to the mound. The rookie acquired from the Dodgers as part of the Rich Hill deal is 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA.