Tag: Seattle Mariners

Mariners embarrass the A’s in a 7-1 laugher

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Photo credit: @Mariners

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — A’s starter Frankie Montas took one for his team Thursday night as he was roughed up for five runs in the first inning. A’s manager Bob Melvin decided to leave Montas in the game. Montas responded by allowing just two more runs and four hits in his next five innings of work. His line for the night was six innings of work, and he allowed seven runs and eight hits.

The Mariners trounced the A’s 7-1. Reliever J.B. Wendelken, who was recalled from Nashville, pitched three scoreless innings and gave up just one hit for a very impressive performance. M’s starter Wade LeBlanc dominated the A’s for seven innings. The A’s never mounted a threat as LeBlanc scattered three hits over his seven innings of work.

Frankie Montas, who made his first start since being recalled from Nashville, did not do well in the very first inning against the M’s. The M’s put five runs on the board, two of them were unearned, as Montas had control problems. The Mariners had four hits in the inning and were helped out by a Matt Chapman throwing error. Montas didn’t help his cause as he walked right fielder Ben Gamel with the bases loaded to force in a run. Montas threw 38 pitches in the inning.

Montas settled down a bit in the top of the second. Nevertheless, the M’s tacked on their sixth run of the game in that frame. Left fielder Denard Span started the inning with a leadoff triple. M’s second baseman singled to drive in Span. Montas retired Nelson Cruz for the first out and got Kyle Seager to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Montas retired the M’s in order in the third inning. Melvin was hoping the A’s offense will get going and that Montas can give him at least five innings of work, but that wasn’t the case. In the top of the fourth, with one out, Mitch Haniger blasted his 23 home run of the year to give the M’s a 7-0 lead.

The A’s finally put one on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Marcus Semien walked. He went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Jed Lowrie’s single. The A’s trailed 7-1 after eight.

The A’s went down in order in the ninth, and the M’s took the first game of the four-game series 7-1.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s fall to 80-55. The M’s improved to 75-59 and now trail the A’s by 4 1/2 games for the second Wild Card spot. The A’s remain 2 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros as the Astros lost to the LA Angels Thursday night.

Time of game was two hours and 40 minutes and a very small crowd of 10,844 watched as the A’s were subdued by Seattle.

Up Next: Game two of the four-game series will feature the A’s Mike Fiers (10-6, 3.15 ERA) vs. the M’s Mike Leake (8-8, 4.03 ERA). Game time will be at 7:05 pm PDT Friday night.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: This Week in 1980, Charlie O. Finley Sold the A’s for $12.7 Million

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Photo credit: thesportsesquires.com

By: Amaury Pi-González

On August 21, 1980, Athletics owner Charlie Finley announced at a news conference that he has sold his A’s to Walter A. Haas, Jr., the chairman of the board of the Levi Strauss clothing empire, Haas’s son Walter Jr., and son-in-law Roy Eisenhardt for $12.7 million.

In 1980, Finley agreed in principle to sell to businessman Marvin Davis, who was planning to move the A’s to Denver, but before that, Finley and Davis were to sign a contract, as the NFL’s Oakland Raiders announced they were moving to Los Angeles in 1982. The City of Oakland and Alameda County officials didn’t wanted to be held responsible for losing Oakland status as a big league city and refused to let the A’s out of their lease with the Coliseum. So the A’s were sold and stayed.

Although they have changed ownership a few times since, today’s A’s are in solid ground to continue playing in Oakland. These days, the last thing in mind for the A’s is to move out of Oakland, because soon they will be the only professional team left, after the Warriors move to San Francisco and the Raiders to Las Vegas. That is the good news. Plus, MLB commissioner Robert Manfred has said it all along, “the Bay Area is a two-team market.”

However, there is presently a group called Protect Oakland’s Shoreline Economy that is questioning the A’s proposed move to their favorite location of the Howard Terminal near Jack London Square. Here in the greater Bay Area, there is never a shortage of groups that oppose construction of sports facilities. and this one is the most recent. This is the second chapter of this novela. In December of last year, the A’s plans to build a 35,000 seat ballpark near Lake Merritt was stopped cold, when the community college refused to start negotiations about the proposed park.

All these recent concerns have been rather silenced by the A’s current play on the field, as they have been shocking the baseball world. They just took two out of three from the Mariners and two out of three from the Astros–two of their biggest rivals. This Monday, the Rangers open a three-game series at the Coliseum and then the A’s go on a six-game road-trip to Minnesota and Houston. They return the 30th of this month to say adios to August and welcome September with a four-game series against the M’s, three against the contending Yankees and the Rangers again. I do not believe the A’s bandwagon is close to capacity yet, as there are still a lot of folks who are not 100 percent certain they are going to see postseason play at the Coliseum. But I think they will.

By then, we will see how are the Atléticos de Oakland doing, with two very possible scenarios: 1) winning the division or 2) advancing as one of the two Wild Card teams.

Listen to the A’s games in Spanish on KIQI 1010am/990am, covering the Bay Area, Sacramento, Stockton and the Valley, and on the SAP Channel on NBC Sports California.

A’s unable to stop Gordon, Mariners in 2-0 loss in 12 innings

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Photo credit: @KING5SPORTS

By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND, Calif. — It was August 15th and the Oakland A’s were loud and proud about the fact that they’re just one game back of the Houston Astros just moments before the home game versus the Seattle Mariners at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon. The A’s haven’t been this confident in a long time.

Both teams engaged in a pitching duel and a very defensive battle through seven innings. Wednesday’s seventh inning stretch was extremely exciting, thanks to the talented in-stadium host Kara Tsuboi (@karashotcorner).

The A’s Twitter managed to make the scoreless innings sound thrilling as they tweeted, “The late innings have arrived. You know what that means.”

A’s manager pulled starter Brett Anderson out of the game, and rookie reliever Lou Trivino entered in relief. Trivino pitched just 1/3 of the eighth inning.

Veteran reliever Fernando Rodney stepped onto the mound for the A’s. Rodney pitched 2/3 of the eighth inning.

Newly acquired reliever Jeurys Familia warmed up in the A’s bullpen just moments before he had to get on the field.

Neither team was able to score in the standard nine innings, so the game went into extra innings. Fans in attendance got the chance to watch additional baseball for free, which was a wonderful thing–especially for the kids.

The Mariners finally broke open the scoring in the top of the 12th inning. The M’s Dee Gordon hit a two-run home run for his 24th RBI of the season. Gordon hit the two-run homer off of A’s reliever Yusmeiro Petit, who has played for the Giants from 2012 to 2015.

The M’s shutout the A’s 2-0 in a three-hour, 13-minute game in front of 17,078 fans. The M’s James Pazos was the winning pitcher. Pazos’ record upped to 3-1. Petit, who was the last A’s reliever, got the loss. Petit’s record dropped to 1-2.

The M’s moved up on the A’s in the AL Wild Card standings. The M’s are now 2 1/2 games back of the A’s and also gained one full game on the A’s.

Notes
Three A’s players made appearances on television and radio Wednesday morning. Stephen Piscotty was on air on Sports 1140 KHTK at 8:35 am PDT. Marcus Semien joined Jim Rome on CBS Sports Network at 9:30 am PDT. Trevor Cahill spoke on MLB Network Radio at 9:35 am PDT.

A’s 50th anniversary moments
In 1976, Joe Rudi collected his 1000th hit as an Oakland Athletic in the A’s 8-7 win against Boston…In 1980, Rick Langford pitched a six-hitter as the A’s defeated Seattle 11-3…It’s his club record ninth consecutive complete game victory…The win came in the midst of a club record 22 consecutive complete games…In 2009, Adam Kennedy was a perfect 5-for-5 in the A’s 8-1 loss to Chicago…It’s Kennedy’s second of two five-hit games in 2009.

Up Next 
The A’s have a much-needed day off on Thursday. They’ll welcome the Astros for a three-game series starting this Friday night at 7:05 pm PDT.

A’s win a thriller over Mariners 3-2; close in on first place in the AL West

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s won their fourth game in a row as they defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum in a very close and competitive contest. With the win, coupled with the Houston Astros’ 5-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies, the A’s found themselves just one game behind the Astros in the race for the AL West division crown.

The A’s are now 72-48, and most of the pundits who predicted this team would finish last in the AL West now have an egg on their collective faces. This team is for real. They have relatively good starting pitching, one of the best bullpens in all of baseball, power up and down the lineup and sensational defense.

636575966572545642-032518-mlb-record-projectionsM’s right fielder Mitch Haniger doubled into the left-field corner to start the game. Mike Fiers retired Robinson Cano for the first out, but Haniger was able to advance to third on the play. With the infield drawn in, Fiers got Jean Segura to ground out. Jed Lowrie made sure Haniger stayed at third base. Nelson Cruz hit a blooper to right field that Stephen Piscotty could not catch. Piscotty was playing deep as Cruz loves to torment the A’s pitching. He had a long run for the ball. It looked as if he caught the ball, but he trapped it. Haniger scored on the play.

In the bottom of the first, Marcus Semien tied the game with a blast off James Paxton that landed in the seats in left field. Jed Lowrie was the next hitter. Lowrie lined a shot off Paxton’s shoulder for a base hit. Paxton’s shoulder dropped, and he was unable to continue and exited the field. Felix Hernandez was brought in to pitch for the M’s. Hernandez walked Khris Davis to put two men on with one out. A’s manager Bob Melvin had Matt Olson pinch-hit for Mark Canha. Olson hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the first inning.

In the bottom of the third inning, Jed Lowrie homered with a man aboard to give the A’s a 3-1 lead. King Felix had retired six in a row since coming in to relieve Paxton. With two out, he walked Matt Chapman. Jed Lowrie then hit his career-high 19th home run of the year and upped his RBI total to 76, which was a new career-high for him.

The M’s plated a run in the top of the fifth when lead-off hitter Cameron Maybin hit his fourth home run of the season over the left field wall. Fiers regained his composure and retired the next three hitters in order The A’s led 3-2 in the middle of the fifth inning.

Fiers retired the M’s in order in the sixth inning. Melvin then turned the game over to his bullpen. Ryan Buchter, Yusmeiro Petit, Fernando Rodney, and Blake Treinen allowed three hits and no runs. The A’s won 3-2.

Game Notes and Stats: The M’s announced the negatives on James Paxton’ left forearm. He suffered a bone contusion and is listed as day-to-day. The M’s, A’s and their respective fans wished him a speedy recovery.

The A’s Matt Chapman continued to play fantastic defense. Chapman lit up the crowd when he made a fantastic catch off Robinson Cano’s popup in foul territory. Chapman made a running catch as he head to lean over the tarp in foul territory. The crowd went crazy.  Chapman extended his career-long on-base streak to 28 games. With his double in the eighth, he has now hit in 12 straight games.

Jed Lowrie hit has 100th career home run. It was the third home run this year off Felix Hernandez.

Jonathan Lucroy threw out Dee Gordon, trying to steal second in the top of the eighth. Lucroy has nailed 20 runners, and that ties him for the Major League lead with Jorge Alfaro of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Felix Hernandez made his first appearance of his career. Hernandez took the loss and is now 8-11. Mike Fiers improved to 8-6.

The A’s are now 38-12 since June 16th. They are 50-0 when leading after the seventh inning. They are the only team in baseball that is undefeated when leading after seven.

The final game of the three-game series will be played Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. Game time is at 12:35 pm. Lefty Brett Anderson (2-4, 4.53 ERA) will pitch for Oakland, and the M’s will send Mike Leake (8-7, 4.11 ERA) to try to stop the A’s

Time of game was a crisp two hours and 28 minutes and 17,419 fans saw the A’s win a thriller over the M’s.

Up Next: The A’s wrap up their series versus the Mariners on Wednesday afternoon at 12:35 pm PDT. Brett Anderson (2-4, 4.53 ERA) will pitch for the A’s, and the M’s will send Mike Leake (8-7, 4.11 ERA) to try to stop the A’s.

They are off on Thursday before starting a crucial three-game series with the Astros on Friday at 7:05 pm PDT.

A’s win a nail-biter 7-6 over the Mariners

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s beat the Seattle Mariners 7-6 at Oakland Coliseum on Monday night before a crowd of 10,400 fans.

The A’s were cruising along with a 7-1 lead with two out in the eighth when things began to go south. The A’s starter Sean Manaea, who did not pitch well last week against the Los Angeles Dodgers, returned to form. He was in complete control for 7 2/3 innings of work. He left the game with the A’s in front and all the bullpen had to do was get the last four outs of the game. The A’s bullpen, which is so reliable and one of the best in baseball, almost failed to get the job done Monday.

A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Manaea after he gave up a single with two outs in the eighth. He had thrown just 86 pitches, and it looked like he would stay in the game to finish the eighth. His replacement, Emilio Pagan faced two hitters, and both singled to make it 7-2. Melvin brought in rookie Lou Trivino to get the final out. The first hitter he faced singled to make it 7-3. Trivino struck out Kyle Seager to end the inning. Things got tense in the ninth. The M’s scored three more runs to close within one, and they had the tying run on at second with two out and a very dangerous slugger, Nelson Cruz, at the plate. Blake Treinen, the A’s All-Star closer struck out Cruz to end the game and put smiles on the fans’ faces that stayed until the bitter end.

The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, third baseman Matt Chapman lined a shot that bounced off M’s third baseman Kyle Segura. Chapman ended up on second base with a double. Jed Lowrie, batting from the right side, singled to right to drive in Chapman with the A’s first run of the night.

The A’s put three more on the board in the third inning. M’s starter, Marco Gonzalez, walked the first hitter of the inning, Marcus Semien. Semien then stole second. Matt Chapman blooped a double into short center field. Semien had to hold up as it appeared the ball might be caught.  The A’s had second and third with no out and Jed Lowrie coming to bat. Lowrie, who had been mired in a slump due to a leg injury, doubled to drive in Semien and Chapman. Gonzalez retired Khris Davis and Mark Canha. A’s first baseman Matt Olson singled to drive in Lowrie with the A’s third run of the inning and the fourth of the game. The A’s led 4-0 after three complete.

In the top of the fourth, the M’s plated their first run of the game. Mitch Haniger led off with a double. Manaea retired Cameron Maybin and Jean Segura for the first two outs of the inning. Melvin signaled the umpires to issue an intentional walk to DH Nelson Cruz. Seager singled to drive in Haniger with the M’s first run. Manaea retired former Athletic Ryon Healy for the third out. The A’s did not score in their half of the frame. The A’s led 4-1 in the middle of the fourth.

The A’s tallied three more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Chad Pinder started the rally with a single to the left. Jonathan Lucroy walked to put men on at first and second with no out. M’s reliever Casey Jackson struck out Semien for the first out. He had to face Matt Chapman. Chapman doubled to drive in Pinder and Lucroy. It was Chapman’s third double of the night, and that tied an A’s team record. The next hitter, Lowrie, also doubled to drive in Chapman. It was Lowrie’s third hit of the night. The A’s were in the driver’s seat with a 7-1 lead after six innings of play.

The M’s rallied to score two runs in the top of the eighth after two men were out. Manaea retired the first two M’s hitters to start the inning. He then gave up a single to Haniger. Melvin walked to the mound and took Manaea out of the game. Manaea received a standing ovation from the fans. Pagan was the new A’s pitcher, and he did not get anyone out, He gave up singles to Maybin and Segura. Haniger scored on Segura’s single. Melvin brought in Trivino to pitch. Cruz, singled to drive in Maybin with the M’s third run of the game. Trivino struck out Seager to end the inning. The A’s led 7-3 after eight.

The A’s brought in Jeurys Familia to close out the ninth. However, there was just one little problem–Familia couldn’t find the strike zone. Not only did he commit the cardinal sin of walking the leadoff hitter in the ninth, but he also walked the next two batters to load the bases with no out. The fans were getting nervous, and so was Melvin. Melvin removed Familia and brought in Treinen to pitch. Treinen struck out pinch-hitter Chris Herrmann for the first out. With Haniger hitting, Treinen uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Healy to score from third. Haniger then singled to drive in Mike Zunino and Denard Span, and it was a 7-6 game with a man on first and one out. Treinen struck out Maybin for the second out. Segura, with two strikes on him, reached on an infield single to move Haniger into scoring position. Treinen now had to pitch to the ever-dangerous Cruz. Cruz, who has beaten the A’s many times in the past, was not able to punish the A’s as Treinen struck him out to end the game. The A’s won 7-6.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the A’s improve to 71-48. They are 37-16 since June 16th. They are now just two games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the AL West. They increased their lead over the Seattle Mariners to 2 1/2 games in the race for the second wild card slot in the American League.

The A’s are now 49-0 when leading after seven innings and are still the only team that is undefeated in that department.

Sean Manaea was the winning pitcher and is now 11-8. Marco Gonzalez absorbed the loss, and his record dropped to 12-8.

Jed Lowrie had three hits and four RBIs. He has driven in 74 runs so far this year and is just one behind his career-high of 75.

Matt Chapman had three doubles in the game and is the first A’s third baseman to have two three-double games in a season since 1948 when Hank Majewski did it for them when the A’s were in Philadelphia.

Up Next: Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at 7:05 pm PDT in Oakland.

The A’s Mike Fiers will make his second start as a member of the Green and Gold. The M’s will send their ace, James Paxton, to the hill as they try to even the series.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A’s vs Mariners–Bullpen Mano a Mano

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Photo credit: espn.com

By: Amaury Pi-González

Two Western Division teams fighting for one of the two Wild Card spots in the American League. One of them, the Seattle Mariners was supposed to be a contender, while the other one, the Oakland Athletics, is the biggest surprise in baseball this season.

Nobody can win a World Series without bullpen talent, all you have to do is go back during the past  few years and see the bullpens of the teams that won the title. The game today lends to starters–with some exceptions–to go between 5 to 6 inning, and then it is bullpen time.

Both clubs have made additions to their bullpens. Earlier this season, M’s manager Jerry DiPoto, brought veteran Alex Colomé from the Tampa Bay Rays (with 12 saves) to join their tremendous closer Edwin Nuñez (43 saves). This year, the A’s began with Blake Treinen, who saved 17 games for the team last season, but this year, he became one of the best closers in the game with 29 saves as well as his first ever selection to the MLB All-Star Game.

When the A’s got really hot and passed the M’s for the No. 2 position in the wild card race, the A’s management went to work. First, they acquired the New York Mets’ Jeurys Familia, a man that saved 51 games in 2016, then Minnesota Twins’ Fernando Rodney, who is 40 years old and a 16-year veteran who has played for five different teams and made 325 saves in his career. He packed his imaginary arrow and came to the Bay Area.

The A’s have 10 games remaining with the M’s, seven in Oakland, beginning next Monday for the first three and then three in Seattle during the last week of the season. This could be a battle of bullpens. The M’s Félix Hernández has been their No. 1 starter and he still is on paper.

However, King Félix, a leader on that pitching staff for 14 years, doesn’t bring the same dominant stuff to the mound anymore. He has a 8-10 record with a 5.73 ERA in 23 starts. Many years ago in Seattle, I saw Félix make his last start at Triple-A with Tacoma. Tremendous stuff, but that doesn’t last forever. Their No. 1 today was lefty James Paxton is 10-5 with a 3.63 ERA in 23 games (two completed games). He is their real top of the rotation man.

Edwin Jackson has done a terrific job for the A’s and now Mike Fiers, after a very good outing against the Dodgers, is part of the rotation. The A’s No. 1 is without a doubt, Sean Manaea, the young lefty is 10-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 24 starts and one complete game, a no-hitter against the Red Sox in Oakland back in April. It is worthy to mention that M’s Marco Gonzáles is having his best season. He is 12-7 and 3.79 ERA in 23 starts with one complete game.

As far as for both of these contending team starters, the M’s might have a slight edge, but when it comes to the bullpen, the A’s bullpen is much deeper than the M’s. That is just a fact. Will the A’s bullpen continue to perform as good? It is hard to find a better bullpen in baseball, maybe the Yankees, but definitely not many as solid as the A’s relievers. The A’s also picked up Nationals reliever Shawn Kelley, who began his career with the M’s, who gave up a completely meaningless ninth inning home run to Austin Jackson, which turned the Nats’ 23-run win into a 21-run win. He was mad about giving up that homer, threw his glove really hard on the ground, and that was his last game with the Nats. So the A’s told him, “Pick your glove up”and come our way!

Starting next Monday, when the A’s return from their trip to Anaheim against the Angels, I expect a bullpen battle between the A’s and M’s. This is when the rubber meets the road. Also, in this home stretch, the A’s will be facing other division teams like Houston, Texas and Los Angeles Angels, and of course a battle royale when the New York Yankees invade the Oakland Coliseum in the first week of September.

Fastens your seat belts, it going to be quite a ride!

Listen to the A’s games in Spanish on KIQI 1010AM/990AM, covering the San Francisco Bay Area as well as Sacramento, Stockton, and the Valley.

Giants go down late in 3-2 loss to Mariners

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

The night before, the San Francisco Giants’ bullpen showed its teeth in a huge win over the Seattle Mariners in Seattle, but it was the exact opposite Wednesday afternoon.

After they ties things up in the seventh inning with a dramatic rally, the Giants’ bullpen gave it right back to the Mariners in the eighth, and the Giants ended up with a two-game split after a 3-2 loss to the M’s inside Safeco Field.

Derek Holland pitched six innings and gave up only a pair of runs (one earned) on three hits and gave way to Ray Black, who pitched a perfect seventh inning. However, Tony Watson took over in the eighth and immediately fell into trouble.

The end result was an RBI single by Jean Segura, who brought in Guillermo Heredia to give Seattle a one-run lead. That took the wind out of the Giants’ sails, particularly after they scored two runs in their half of the seventh to erase an early two-run deficit.

In that inning, Brandon Crawford doubled in a run, and a resurgent Hunter Pence immediately followed that one up with a double of his own to bring Crawford in and tie the game.

For the Mariners, Mike Leake, who spent the 2015 season with the Giants, went 6.1 innings and gave up a pair of runs himself and only four hits, striking out two and not walking anyone. However, Seattle’s bullpen then took over for Leake and gave up only two hits the rest of the way.

The Giants will now head home for a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers, a series that starts Thursday night at 7:15 pm PDT. Giants’ Dereck Rodriguez will be taking the ball against the Brewers’ Wade Miley.

Sandoval’s infield hit gets the job done in Giants’ 4-3 win over Mariners

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

After two tough losses to the Oakland A’s over the weekend, the San Francisco Giants wanted to get back in the win column in a hurry in their current series against the Seattle Mariners.

Pablo Sandoval hit an infield single in the top of the ninth inning that Dee Gordon was unable to handle, as his throw went away from Ryon Healy and the Giants defeated the Mariners 4-3 at Safeco Field Monday night.

Steven Duggar scored the winning run, as he was on second base after he advanced an additional 90 feet on a Alen Hanson groundout.

Sandoval was hitting for Chase d’Arnaud, who drove in the first Giants run of the evening in the top of the third inning, as he hit an infield single that scored Kelby Tomlinson, who tripled just prior to the d’Arnaud infield hit.

Guillermo Heredia tied up the game in the bottom of the third inning, as he took an Andrew Suarez offering over the center-field wall.

Tomlinson gave the Giants the lead once again in the top of the fourth inning, as he singled to score Brandon Crawford.

Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived, as former Giants centerfielder Denard Span hit a sacrifice fly to Nelson Cruz from third base.

The Giants took the lead for the third time on the night, as Hunter Pence hit his first home run of the season in the top of the sixth inning, a home run that was measured at 445 feet and went off of the facade of the upper deck in left field.

Suarez got into trouble in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he gave up a leadoff single to Kyle Seager; however, Healy then grounded into a double play and it looked like Suarez might get out of the jam, but it was that man Span again. Span walked, and that was the end of the night for Suarez.

Reyes Moronta came into the game, and the usually solid Moronta then walked Mike Zunino and then pinch-hitter Ben Gamel singled off of Moronta to score Span with the tying run; therefore, within two batters, Suarez went from the win to not getting a decision.

Suarez went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out one on the night.

Despite the walk and the single allowed by Moronta, the bullpen was outstanding, as Moronta, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Will Smith combined for 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit, one walk and a strikeout.

Dyson struck out two in his only inning of work, before giving way to Watson and the left-hander, shut down the Mariners in order and then Smith struck out two of the three batters he faced to pick-up his fourth save of the season.

Austin Slater came up with the defensive play of the night, as he threw out Seager at the plate on a Zunino single in the bottom of the fourth inning.

James Paxton, who threw a no-hitter earlier in the season was supposed to start the series opener for the Mariners; however, his back flared up over the weekend and he was unable to go.

Roenis Elias got the start for the Mariners, and he went just 3.2 innings, allowing two runs and threw a season-high 75 pitches on the night.

NOTES: The game will be on Facebook only with Rich Waltz, former Giants pitcher Shawn Estes and Ryan Rowland-Smith on the call.

Evan Longoria’s rehab stint will continue with the Sacramento Rivercats for a few more days, as Longoria was hit by a pitch and suffered a triceps contusion on Sunday. Joe Panik will begin his rehab assignment on Thursday, as he recovers from a groin strain he suffered on July 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Mariners will conclude their series Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 pm PDT.

Derek Holland will start the finale for the Giants, as Jeff Samardzija is on the disabled list for the third time this season with a sore right shoulder.

Mariners manager Scott Servais will send former Giants pitcher Mike Leake to the hill, as he looks to improve to 9-6 on the season.

A’s nip Mariners 4-3 to win series finale

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s won the final game of the three-game series as they defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-3. However, the Mariners won the series two games to one and are 6-3 over Oakland so far this season.

The A’s were facing their nemesis, Felix Hernandez, once more. Hernandez has owned the A’s over the years and his 26-10 lifetime record is a testament to his dominance. Thursday’s game in Oakland did not go King Felix’s way. The A’s tallied four runs in the bottom of the first, and that was enough to win the game. Hernandez and three Mariner relievers allowed the A’s just one hit after the first inning. Josh Lucas went two innings for the A’s and gave up two runs. The A’s bullpen was fantastic as they kept Seattle off the board until the eighth and Blake Treinen closed out the game to preserve the win.

The Mariners jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning. The A’s starter Josh Lucas gave up singles to M’s shortstop Jean Segura and center fielder Guillermo Heredia. Lucas walked the ever-dangerous Mitch Haniger to load the bases with no out. Lucas now had to face the M’s slugger Nelson Cruz. Cruz, who has killed the A’s in the past, hit into a 5-4-3 double play. Segura scored. Lucas struck out Kyle Seager to end the inning. The A’s roared back in their half of the frame as they scored four times to take a 4-1 lead.

The M’s ace Felix Hernandez gave up singles to Matt Joyce and Marcus Semien to put men on at first and third with one out. Jed Lowrie flew out to left field. Joyce tagged up and scored on the play. Matt Chapman walked to put two men on with two out. Stephen Piscotty doubled to drive in Semien and Chapman. Piscotty scored the fourth run of the inning when Dustin Fowler singled.

The Mariners scored a run in the second inning to make it a 4-2 game.  With two out, Andrew Romine walked. He then stole second and scored on a single by M’s catcher David Freitas.

There was no more scoring in the game until the top of the eighth inning. A’s manager brought in rookie Lou Trivino to pitch. Trivino gave up a single to Jean Segura and walked Heredia to put men on at first and second with no out. Mitch Haniger hit a sharp grounder that was fielded by the third baseman Matt Chapman. Chapman stepped on third base for the first out, threw to second for the second out, but Haniger was safe at first as the throw arrived just a split second late. Nelson Cruz singled to send Haniger to third, and Cruz went to second base on the throw. Bob Melvin decided to use his closer, Blake Treinen to get the final out of the eighth. Kyle Seager singled sharply to drive in Haniger with the M’s third run. Cruz stopped at third base. Treinen retired Daniel Vogelbach on a fly ball to center field for the final out of the inning. The A’s are still in the lead 4-3.

Treinen retired the M’s in order in the top of the ninth. Ben Gamel flew out to left field for the first out. Treinen then struck out pinch-hitter Ryon Healy on a 99-mile-an-hour four-seam fastball for the second out, Treinen then struck out Mike Zunino for the final out. The A’s win 4-3.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the A’s improve to 26-24 while Seattle drops to 29-20. The A’s used five pitchers in the game, and the winning pitcher was Yusmeiro Petit. Petit is now 2-1. Blake Treinen earned his 11th save. Felix Hernandez is now 5-4 for 2018.

Time of game was two hours and 44 minutes, and there were 12,633 happy fans in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s will now face the Arizona Diamondbacks for three games starting Friday night in Oakland.

Sean Manaea will oppose Patrick Corbin in a battle of left-handed pitchers Friday night.

Daniel Mengden will hurl for Oakland Saturday, and he will be opposed by the veteran Clay Buchholz.

Sunday’s game will feature Trevor Cahill going against one of the best pitchers in baseball, former Cy Young award winner Zach Greinke.

A’s fall to Mariners 1-0 after pitching duel

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Photo credit: @Mariners

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s and Mariners received outstanding pitching performances from their starters. The only problem for Oakland was they could do nothing against lefty Marco Gonzalez while Seattle was able to win on an unearned run that spoiled Daniel Gossett’s best start ever as an Oakland Athletic. Gossett, making his first start since being recalled from Nashville, went seven innings, allowed just four hits and the only Seattle run was unearned.

The Mariners’ Marco Gonzalez was brilliant. In his seven innings of work, he allowed just two hits and no runs as he won his fourth game of the year by a score of 1-0.

The Mariners drew first blood in the top of the fourth. Mariners’ centerfielder Guillermo Heredia lined a double down the left field line. Nelson Cruz flew out to right field, and Heredia was able to tag up and advance to third on the play. The A’s brought the infield in order to get the runner at home in a ground ball to any one of the infielders. Gossett got former A’s first baseman, Ryon Healy, to hit a ground ball to A’s shortstop Marcus Semien. Semien fielded the ball cleanly, but he dropped the ball as he attempted to throw him. He was charged with an error and Heredia crossed the plate with the first run of the game. The run was unearned. That run was the only run of the game as both the A’s and Mariners’ bullpens did their jobs and did not allow any runs to be scored.

Game Notes and Stats: The only run of the game was scored when Marcus Semien misplayed a ground ball that allowed Guillermo Heredia to score from third.

Right fielder Stephen Piscotty made two fantastic plays on defense. In the fourth, he robbed Mike Zunino of a home run as he leapt high and with his glove outstretched over the wall, came down with the ball for the out. Piscotty made a diving catch in short right field to rob John Andreoli of a hit.

In the ninth inning, Mark Canha had Mike Zunino shaking his head as Canha also made a running, diving catch in left field to take another hit away from Zunino.

The A’s reliever, Ryan Dull, was hit on the hand by a line drive in the eighth inning. Dull couldn’t make the throw to first and went to the ground writhing in pain. Bob Melvin and the trainer raced to the mound and checked out Dull’s hand. Ryan said he was fine and stayed in the game.

The A’s announcer that they placed Khris Davis on the 10-day DL with a strained right groin injury. The doctors determined that it was a Grade 1 strain and healing takes from one to three weeks. The A’s recalled Daniel Gossett and Franklin Barreto from Nashville.

The line score for Seattle was one run, six hits, and no errors. The line score for Oakland was no runs, three hits, and one huge miscue. Jed Lowrie led the A’s attack with two singles.

Time of game was two hours and 43 minutes and there were just 6991 fans in attendance to see a very well played game.

Up Next: The A’s and Mariners cap off the series Thursday afternoon at 12:35 pm PST.

Josh Lucas will start for the A’s on Thursday and Seattle will send Felix Hernandez to the mound to handle the pitching chores. The Mariners are now 6-2 against Oakland this year and will be going for the sweep. Hernandez is 26-10 in his lifetime against the A’s.