Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s beat the Seattle Mariners 7-6 at Oakland Coliseum on Monday night before a crowd of 10,400 fans.

The A’s were cruising along with a 7-1 lead with two out in the eighth when things began to go south. The A’s starter Sean Manaea, who did not pitch well last week against the Los Angeles Dodgers, returned to form. He was in complete control for 7 2/3 innings of work. He left the game with the A’s in front and all the bullpen had to do was get the last four outs of the game. The A’s bullpen, which is so reliable and one of the best in baseball, almost failed to get the job done Monday.

A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Manaea after he gave up a single with two outs in the eighth. He had thrown just 86 pitches, and it looked like he would stay in the game to finish the eighth. His replacement, Emilio Pagan faced two hitters, and both singled to make it 7-2. Melvin brought in rookie Lou Trivino to get the final out. The first hitter he faced singled to make it 7-3. Trivino struck out Kyle Seager to end the inning. Things got tense in the ninth. The M’s scored three more runs to close within one, and they had the tying run on at second with two out and a very dangerous slugger, Nelson Cruz, at the plate. Blake Treinen, the A’s All-Star closer struck out Cruz to end the game and put smiles on the fans’ faces that stayed until the bitter end.

The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, third baseman Matt Chapman lined a shot that bounced off M’s third baseman Kyle Segura. Chapman ended up on second base with a double. Jed Lowrie, batting from the right side, singled to right to drive in Chapman with the A’s first run of the night.

The A’s put three more on the board in the third inning. M’s starter, Marco Gonzalez, walked the first hitter of the inning, Marcus Semien. Semien then stole second. Matt Chapman blooped a double into short center field. Semien had to hold up as it appeared the ball might be caught.  The A’s had second and third with no out and Jed Lowrie coming to bat. Lowrie, who had been mired in a slump due to a leg injury, doubled to drive in Semien and Chapman. Gonzalez retired Khris Davis and Mark Canha. A’s first baseman Matt Olson singled to drive in Lowrie with the A’s third run of the inning and the fourth of the game. The A’s led 4-0 after three complete.

In the top of the fourth, the M’s plated their first run of the game. Mitch Haniger led off with a double. Manaea retired Cameron Maybin and Jean Segura for the first two outs of the inning. Melvin signaled the umpires to issue an intentional walk to DH Nelson Cruz. Seager singled to drive in Haniger with the M’s first run. Manaea retired former Athletic Ryon Healy for the third out. The A’s did not score in their half of the frame. The A’s led 4-1 in the middle of the fourth.

The A’s tallied three more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Chad Pinder started the rally with a single to the left. Jonathan Lucroy walked to put men on at first and second with no out. M’s reliever Casey Jackson struck out Semien for the first out. He had to face Matt Chapman. Chapman doubled to drive in Pinder and Lucroy. It was Chapman’s third double of the night, and that tied an A’s team record. The next hitter, Lowrie, also doubled to drive in Chapman. It was Lowrie’s third hit of the night. The A’s were in the driver’s seat with a 7-1 lead after six innings of play.

The M’s rallied to score two runs in the top of the eighth after two men were out. Manaea retired the first two M’s hitters to start the inning. He then gave up a single to Haniger. Melvin walked to the mound and took Manaea out of the game. Manaea received a standing ovation from the fans. Pagan was the new A’s pitcher, and he did not get anyone out, He gave up singles to Maybin and Segura. Haniger scored on Segura’s single. Melvin brought in Trivino to pitch. Cruz, singled to drive in Maybin with the M’s third run of the game. Trivino struck out Seager to end the inning. The A’s led 7-3 after eight.

The A’s brought in Jeurys Familia to close out the ninth. However, there was just one little problem–Familia couldn’t find the strike zone. Not only did he commit the cardinal sin of walking the leadoff hitter in the ninth, but he also walked the next two batters to load the bases with no out. The fans were getting nervous, and so was Melvin. Melvin removed Familia and brought in Treinen to pitch. Treinen struck out pinch-hitter Chris Herrmann for the first out. With Haniger hitting, Treinen uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Healy to score from third. Haniger then singled to drive in Mike Zunino and Denard Span, and it was a 7-6 game with a man on first and one out. Treinen struck out Maybin for the second out. Segura, with two strikes on him, reached on an infield single to move Haniger into scoring position. Treinen now had to pitch to the ever-dangerous Cruz. Cruz, who has beaten the A’s many times in the past, was not able to punish the A’s as Treinen struck him out to end the game. The A’s won 7-6.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the A’s improve to 71-48. They are 37-16 since June 16th. They are now just two games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the AL West. They increased their lead over the Seattle Mariners to 2 1/2 games in the race for the second wild card slot in the American League.

The A’s are now 49-0 when leading after seven innings and are still the only team that is undefeated in that department.

Sean Manaea was the winning pitcher and is now 11-8. Marco Gonzalez absorbed the loss, and his record dropped to 12-8.

Jed Lowrie had three hits and four RBIs. He has driven in 74 runs so far this year and is just one behind his career-high of 75.

Matt Chapman had three doubles in the game and is the first A’s third baseman to have two three-double games in a season since 1948 when Hank Majewski did it for them when the A’s were in Philadelphia.

Up Next: Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at 7:05 pm PDT in Oakland.

The A’s Mike Fiers will make his second start as a member of the Green and Gold. The M’s will send their ace, James Paxton, to the hill as they try to even the series.