The Oakland A’s Sean Murphy (12) gets the forearm bash from teammate Cristian Bethancourt (23) after hitting a solo home run in the top of the seventh against the Seattle Mariners at T Mobile Park in Seattle on Fri Jul 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

Oakland Levels the Series in Seattle with 3-1 win; A’s snap four game losing streak

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Oakland A’s (26-53) took on the Mariners (37-42) in Seattle and finally got back in the win column with a 3-1 win at T Mobile Field in Seattle snapping a four game loss streak on Friday night. The A’s dropped the first game of their four game series Thursday night 8-6. Oakland was looking to even the series in game two.

Marco Gonzales started the game for Seattle going six innings and allowing two runs. Penn Murfee relieved Gonzales allowing a Sean Murphy home run.

James Kaprielian was on the mound for Oakland. He had six very good innings allowing only one run. He worked himself out of a tough situation in the sixth inning. He kept the walks down and was hoping for his first win this season. He was relieved by Domingo Acevedo in the seventh.

It was a slow offensive start for both teams. In the fifth inning the A’s Tony Kemp scored when Sean Murphy singled giving the A’s a 1-0 lead. Oakland would add to their score in the sixth inning 2-0. Kemp singled driving Sheldon Neuse home.

The Mariners got their first run of the game in the sixth inning. Jesse Winker grounded out and Julio Rodriguez scored.

The A’s were hanging onto a 2-1 lead when in the seventh inning Sean Murphy hit a homer giving the A’s an insurance run 3-1.

Oakland got into trouble in the seventh inning when Seattle loaded the bases. Acevedo lasted less than an inning and was relieved by Zach Jackson who had a terrible outing but got out of the inning unscathed.

The A’s were able to hold onto this game, the final score 3-1. Kaprielian had his first win of the season and Lou Trevino had his second save of the season.

Oakland had a nice offensive game with 12 hits and creating a lot of scoring opportunities. Sean Murphy had a great game with three hits and two RBI’s. He hit the insurance home run in the seventh inning for the A’s.

Saturday the two teams will meet in game three of this series. Paul Blackburn (6-3, 3.12) will be on the mound for the A’s. For Seattle George Kirby (2-3, 4.08) is getting the nod. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM PT.