Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Kyle Muller reacts after walking Seattle Mariners’ AJ Pollock during the second inning at T Mobile Park in Seattle on Mon May 22, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Seattle Mariners welcomed the A’s to T-Mobile Park Monday night. The Mariners sent righty Luis Castillo to the hill to face the A’s. Oakland countered with lefty Kyle Muller. The A’s were hoping to snap a four-game losing streak. The Mariners wanted the win to get to just one game below the .500 mark. The Mariners got their wish by punishing the A’s 11-2. The game summary follows below.

The Mariners put the A’s into a 5-0 deficit after the game’s first two innings. In the first inning, with two out and a man on first, Jarred Kelenic blasted his tenth dinger of the year to give the M’s an early 2-0 lead. The M’s added three more in their half of the second. M’s catcher Cal Raleigh singled to get things going for Seattle. A’s starter Kyle Muller issued A.J.Pollock a walk to put two men on with one out. The Mariners’ second baseman Jose Caballero sent his second dinger of the year over the wall in center field. The Mariners lead 5-0.

The Mariners added another run in the bottom of the fifth. Kyle Muller kept the M’s off the board in the third and fourth innings. He appeared to be in a groove. The A’s were hoping Muller could give them six innings. The M’s, however, had other thoughts. Julio Rodriguez, leading off in the fifth, doubled. The next hitter Jarred Kelenic singled to drive in Rodriguez with Seattle’s sixth run of the night. It was Kelenic’s third RBI of the night to put the M’s ahead 6-0.

The A’s mounted a threat in the top of the sixth. The M’s starter Luis Castillo held the A’s to just two hits in the first five innings. In the sixth, the A’s loaded the bases with two outs. Singles by Ryan Noda and Seth Brown put men on at first and third with two out. Castillo walked JJ Bleday to load the bases. Castillo retired Jace Peterson for the third out.

The Mariners continued to torment the A’s pitching staff. Seattle plated two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Adrian Martinez was pitching for the A’s. Martinez walked A.J. Pollock to start the M’s rally. Martinez retired the next two hitters. Ty France singled, followed by Julio Rodriguez’s second double of the game. Kelenic walked to load the bases. Eugenio Suarez singled to drive in Ty France with M’s eighth run.

The A’s made it 8-2 in the top of the eighth. They put together a single walk, a wild pitch to advance the runners and two ground outs to put the runs on the board.

The Mariners answered with three more runs in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach. Shintaro Fujinami, after retiring the M’s in order in the seventh, lost command of the strike zone.

He walked a batter, hit another with a pitch, and a single by Kelenic drove in the M’s ninth run. Suarez singled to drive in Rodriguez with the tenth run. Kelenic went to third on the play and scored on an infield out. 11-2 M’s after eight. M’s reliever Chris Flexen set the A’s down in order in the ninth to secure the win.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s are 10-39. The Mariners improved to 23-24.Kyle Muller was the losing pitcher. He is now 1-4, and his ERA is a horrendous 8.04. The winning pitcher was Luis Castillo. Castillo won his third game of the year. When Castillo struck out Shea Langeliers in the fifth inning, the crowd gave Castillo a standing ovation as he notched his 1000th career strikeout.

The A’s line was two runs, five hits, and no errors. Seth Brown, just of the IL, had two hits. Esteury Ruiz’s single in the eighth extended his hitting streak to seven games.
The line score for Seattle was 11 runs, 13 hits, and no errors. Eugenio Suarez, Jarred Kelenic, and Jose Caballero each had three RBIs. Kelenic and Caballero homered for Seattle.

On Tuesday, Luis Medina (0-2, 6.88 ERA) goes for Oakland. Lefty Marco Gonzales (3-1,6-10 ERA) will be on the hill for the M’s. The game will start at 6:40 pm.