Photo credit: sfchronicle.com

By: Ana Kieu

After a rough, 12th inning walk-off loss, the Oakland A’s had one goal on their minds…to finish off their stay in the Pacific Northwest with a win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night. Did the A’s achieve their goal? Scroll down the story to find out.

It was another high-scoring game in the Emerald City. The A’s got on the board first as Marcus Semien homered on a fly ball to center for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

The A’s made it a 2-0 game when Chad Pinder homered on a fly ball to center in the top of the second inning.

The M’s quickly tied the score 2-2 in the bottom of the second inning. Ben Gamel doubled on a sharp line drive to Mark Canha. Both Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager scored on Gamel’s double. Daniel Vogelbach went to third.

The A’s poured in a whopping six runs in the top of the fifth inning. Nick Martini got things started with a single on a ground ball to Gamel. Canha scored on Martini’s ground ball single. Josh Phegley went to third. Semien then singled on a line drive to Denard Span. Phegley scored on Semien’s line drive single. Martini went to second. Matt Olson broke the ballgame wide-open with a grand slam to right center. Both Martini, Semien and Khris Davis scored on Chapman’s grand slam. The A’s had an 8-2 advantage to end the inning.

The M’s proceeded to pull within five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Cruz hit a sacrifice fly to Canha. Jean Segura scored on Cruz’s sac fly.

After a scoreless sixth inning, the A’s tacked on a run to take a 9-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning. Davis homered on a fly ball to right center. With that homer, Davis led the Major League with 47 homers this season. Other MLB players with 47-plus homers since 2010 include Giancarlo Stanton (59 in 2017), Joey Bautista (54 in 2010), Chris Davis (53 in 2013; 47 in 2015), Aaron Judge (52 in 2017) and Mark Trumbo (47 in 2016).

Neither team added additional runs, and the A’s defeated the M’s 9-3. Oakland’s Ryan Buchter (6-0) was the winning pitcher. Seattle’s Felix Hernandez (8-14), better known as “King Felix,” took the loss.

Notes
The 2018 AL Wild Card Game, presented by Hankook on TBS, has been scheduled for a 5:00 pm PT airtime.

The Las Vegas Ballpark, the soon-to-be home of the triple-A Las Vegas 51’s, officially introduced the two-year Player Development Contract between the 51’s and the A’s.

Up Next
The A’s have a much-needed day off, then they’ll head to Anaheim to close out the regular season against the Angels. Game 1 is set for Friday night at 7:07 pm PT.