Oakland Athletics’ Brent Rooker hits a single against the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning at T Mobile Field in Seattle on Tue Aug 29, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s upset the Seattle Mariners apple cart Tuesday night in Seattle. The lowly A’s pitching staff held the hard-hitting Mariners’ lineup to just four hits, two of which came in the ninth inning with two out. A’s starter, Ken Waldichuk, pitched well for three innings.

Waldichuk held the M’s hitless in those innings. In the meantime, the A’s put three runs on the board after two innings of play. Seth Brown hit a solo homer in the first, and Shea Langeliers blasted a two-run job in the second. That was all the offense the A’s would need. 

Two things happened to help the A’s get the win. George Kirby was supposed to start for Seattle. Kirby was scratched due to not feeling well. M’s skipper, Scott Servais, inserted Luke Weaver into the starting role. Weaver made two mistakes.

One was the home to Brown, and the second was Langeliers’ big fly. The other thing was the absence of superstar centerfielder Julio Rodriguez. J-Rod, the hottest hitter in baseball, was sidelined with discomfort in his left foot. J-Rod had four hits in Monday’s win over the A’s.

As mentioned above, Waldichuk was good for three innings. Things did not go well for him in the fourth. Teoscar Hernandez singled, leading off the inning. It was the M’s first hit in the game. Waldichuk walked catcher Cal Raleigh to put two men on with no out.

Mike Ford, hitting for Ty France, flew out to right field. Waldichuk struck out Dominic Canzone for the second out. Dylan Moore walked to load the bases. Waldichuk’s wildness continued as he walked Cade Marlowe to force in a run. Jose Caballero pooped up to shortstop Nick Allen to end the inning. The A’s led 3-1 after four.

A’s manager, Mark Kotsay, sent Waldichuk to pitch the fifth. Kotsay had Waldichuk on a short leash. Waldichuk’s pitch count was high. Kotsay would remove him from the game if nothing was left in the tank. Waldichuk walked the leadoff hitter, J.P. Crawford.

Kotsay brought in Lucas Erceg to pitch. Erceg got the next three outs. The A’s Sean Newcomb, Dany Jimenez, and Kirby Snead kept the M’s off the board. The Mariners got their second hit of the night in the bottom of the eighth.

The stage was set for closer Trevor May. May had to face the bottom of the Mariners’ lineup to earn the save. May struck out the first two hitters. Pinch-hitting for Jose Caballero, Josh Rojas singled to keep the Mariners’ hopes alive. J.P. Crawford then doubled down the left-field line to send Rojas to third.

The two hits electrified the 44,280 fans in the park. All the Mariners needed was a single. The batter was the dangerous Eugenio Suarez. Suarez had doubled twice in Monday night’s game. The fans were on their feet. Could Trevor May rise to the occasion for Oakland? The Answer was yes. May struck out Suarez to end the game. The A’s win 3-1.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 39-94. The A’s need four more wins to avoid tying the 1962 New York Mets record of 120 losses. The Mariners record dropped to 75-57. The Mariners are in a dogfight with the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros for first place in the AL West Division. The Rangers and Astros won Tuesday night, and the three teams are in a virtual tie for the lead.

The line score for Oakland was three runs, nine hits, and one error. The winning pitcher was Lucas Erceg. The line for Seattle was one run, four hits, and no errors. The losing pitcher was Luke Weaver.

The A’s beat the Mariners for the first time this season. They are 1-8 and will finish the three-game series Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Field in Seattle.

Zach Neal (ERA 6.88) will pitch for Oakland, and Bryce Miller (8-4 ERA 3.90) will be Seattle’s starter choice. The game will start at 1:10 p.m.