Oakland A’s starter Chris Bassitt makes his first start for Oakland since his injury Aug 17th. Bassitt is pitching here against the Seattle Mariners who swept the A’s in four games on Thu Sep 23, 2021 at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News photo)

Seattle` 6 – 7 – 1

Oakland 5 – 6 – 0

By Lewis Rubman

Thursday September 23, 2021

OAKLAND–When the A’s reinstated Chris Bassitt from the injured list this morning, their press release noted that he “will be making his first start since Aug. 17 at Chicago (AL) when he was hit in the face by a Brian Goodwin line drive in the second inning. He was placed on the IL Aug. 18 with a right facial fracture and had surgery on Aug. 24.”

The Athletics went into that game at 68-51. They entered today’s game at 82-70. That means they lost two-thirds of the 35 they played during Bassitt’s absence. It would be impossible to measure how much the latter was a cause of the former, but an entire lack of causality would be highly unlikely.

In any case, the righty’s return to the roster—and to the pitching rubber—today would be good news regardless of how well he performed. It turned out that he performed exdtremely well, giving up a single and a walk to the first two batters he faced and retiring the nine others that remained before being relieved after having thrown 48 pitches, 38 for strikes, in three innings.

Basically, he was an opener for James Karpielian, who took over in the fourth. That didn’t do the A’s much good. They blew a three run lead and went down to a 6-5 defeat that wasn’t as close as thee final score indicated.

The Athletics skipped out to an early lead against Seattle starter Yusei Kikuchi in the second on a walk to Matt Chapman and Sean Murphy’s single to right that sent Chapmanto third. He scored on Elvis Andrus’s rising line drive to center that Jarred Kelenic had to jump a bit before he could haul it down. They added to their lead in the third on a walk to Olson, who scored on Yan Gomes’s double that hit the center field fence, just to the right of the 400 foot marker, on one hop.

Kaprielian allowed the M’s to get on the board by plunking Kyle Seager to open the frame and then allowing a two out RBI double to Abraham Toro.

Kikuchi, like Bassit, was removed after three innings, but for a different reason. In his short stint, the lefty had thrown 72 pitches (40 were strikes) and allowed three runs, all earned, on three hits, four walks, and a hit batter. He struck out three Athletics.

His replacement, Yohan Ramírez lasted a mere third of an inning, in which he surrendeered a lead off first pitch round tripper to Sean Murphy and walked Andrus and Marte. Anthony Misiewcz relileved Ramírez and slammed the door on the. A’s by fanning Olson and Gomes. In the meantime, Oakland had restored their three run margin, leading 4-1.

That situation situation didn’t last long. All it took was Dylan Moore’s first pitch lead off single to right and Cal Raleigh’s second homer of ‘21, also to right, to narrow the gap to 4-3.

Right handed sidewinder Joe Smth entered the game to start the Oakland half of the fourth, hoping to keep Seattle within striking distance of the A’s. He pitched the first clean inning of the game for the Mariners.

Jake Diekman went to the hill to start the top of the sixth for the A’s, still hanging on to their fragile 4-3 lead. Seven pitches later, he was trying to keep the game tied. Mitch Haniger’s 35th homer of the season just barely cleared the glove of the leaping Pinder, 375 feet into reight field. Even that tie didn’t last long, Diekman walked Kelenic, struck out Abraham Toro, and then gave up pinch hitting Luis Torrens’ 15th round triper of the year, a 366 foot liner to left. Just anothe aternoon in the Oakland bullpen…

For the final three frames, the A’s bullpen functioned as it was designed to.Deolis Guerra, a flicker of llight in the dark night of the Athletics’ relief corps coughed up a double to Raleigh, but that was sandwhiched between Ks of Moore and Crawford. Guerra pitched until Andrew Chafin relived him with a perfect eighth. Trivino duplicated Chafin’s feat in the ninth

Casey Sadler’s task, on coming to the mound in the sixth was to protect the M’s 6-4 lead. It took him all of five pitches to do that. He encountered a spot of bother in Jed Lowrie’s pinch hit double down the right field line in the seventh, but Lowrie didn’t go any further, and Diego Castilo inherited the 6-4 lead in the eighth Right away, he was saved by a sparkling diving catch of Chapman’s sinking liner to left by Jake Bauers, who had entered the game in the seventh.

One more, Paul Sewald was called on to close things out for the visitors. He struck out Harrison and Marte and slipped a fast ball by Olson for strike one. But then Olson unloaded on another fast ball, and his 38 homer sailed over the right field fence. Lowrie now represented the potential tying run. He ended up being the final out.

The win went to Smith, who’s now 3-4 and sports an ERA of 5.12. Diekman, the losing pitcher, is now 5-3 and has blown seven saves. The save, his 10th, went to Sewald.

Friday evening at 6:40, Frankie Montás (12-9, 3.57) will face the Astros, who haven’t announced who will start for them. There will be fireworks after the game.