8/19/22

Mariners 10, A’s 2

(Oakland, CA) The Seattle Mariners enjoyed their off day on Thursday but were back to work to take on the Oakland Athletics in game one of a three-game series on Friday night. In the return to action, the Mariners did something that they hadn’t done all season, score in double digits in back-to-back games.

Oakland has had a miserable season so the M’s were looking to jump on them early and they did just that. In the top of the 1st, Julio Rodriguez and Ty France would both hit singles to lead off the ball game and put runners on the corners. Jesse Winker would unfortunately ground into a double play but a run would come into score and Seattle was on the board at 1-0.

The leas wouldn’t last long. In the bottom of the 1st, Marco Gonzales would struggle and with one out, he hit Jonah Bride and walked Sean Murphy to put runners on first and second. Chad Pinder would hit a grounder to left field for a base hit and Bride would score to even the game at 1-1. An errant throw by Sam Haggerty let the runners move up to second and third. Rookie Shae Langeliers would cash in with a sacrifice fly to Rodriguez in center to score Murphy and give Oakland a 2-1 lead.

Runs haven’t been too hard to come by this week for the Mariners and they would help out their pitcher in the top of the 4th. A one out single by Mitch Haniger would bring up power hitting third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Suarez would do exactly what he was brought to Seattle to do and that would be hit a home run as he launched one off the stairs in left. The 21st home run of the year for Suarez put the Mariners back in front 3-2.

Defense would be the story for Seattle in the bottom of the 5th. A two out double by Nick Allen had the tying run in scoring position. Jonah Bride would hit a groundball into left field for a base hit. Sam Haggerty would make a much better throw this time to try to get Allen at the plate but it would be the tag by Cal Raleigh that would steal the show. Raleigh would catch the ball and make a diving tag to just get Allen at the plate to end the inning and preserve the one run lead.

That lead would grow in the top of the 6th. A one out walk by Jesse Winker was followed by bad defense for Oakland. Haniger would hit what looked to be a routine double play to short, but Nick Allen would drop the ball on the flip to second and the throw to first was too late to get Haniger resulting in everyone being safe. Eugenio Suarez would make them pay for the error as he launched his second home run of the game to center field. The three-run shot extended the Seattle lead to 6-2 and gave Suarez 22 home runs on the year.

In the bottom of the 6th, Seattle would get in some hot water. The Athletics would load the bases with just one out against Marco Gonzales and bring the tying run to the plate. Scott Servais would make a pitching change and bring in the rookie Matt Brash to try to get out of trouble. Brash would get pinch hitter Vimael Machin to strike out swinging for a massive second out. Another pinch hitter in Tony Kemp would groundout to J.P. Crawford at short to end the inning and keep the A’s from narrowing the gap.

Seattle would be able to pour it on against the Oakland bullpen. In the 7th, Haggerty would single and an error in right field put runners on second and third with nobody out. Ty France would hit a deep fly ball to right to score Haggerty and move Rodriguez to third. Jesse Winker would then drive in a run with a base hit to left to make it 8-2 Mariners.

They weren’t done yet. In the 8th, both Cal Raleigh and Adam Frazier would single with one out to bring up pinch hitter Jake Lamb. Lamb would hit a soft fly ball into left field that would drop fair and Raleigh would beat the throw home to score and make it 9-2. Ty France would then drive in a run with two outs as he snuck a grounder into left field to score Frazier and put the Mariners in double digits at 10-2.

The bullpen of Seattle once again dominated after they took over. Matt Brash, Diego Castillo, Penn Murfee, and Chris Flexen faced a total of 11 batters. None of those batters reached base as Seattle slammed the door to take game one 10-2. All 11 Mariners batters that entered the game recorded a base hit. That is the first time 11 different Mariners have recorded a hit in the same game since 2012.

Seattle (66-54) have now won four straight games and seven of their last nine overall. The Mariners remain in the top Wild Card spot with a one game lead over Toronto. They sit two games ahead of Tampa Bay who hold the final Wild Card spot and 2.5 games over the first team out of the playoffs in Minnesota. Seattle has cut the deficit in the AL West down to 10.5 games behind Houston. Seattle and Oakland will meet in game two of the series on Saturday at 4:15p on FOX. Logan Gilbert (10-5, 3.51 ERA) will try to cut down his rising ERA as he goes to the mound for the M’s. The A’s will counter with James Kaprielian (3-7, 4.33 ERA) in game two.

Matt’s Takeaway

There isn’t much to say about the offense or the bullpen. They are scorching hot right now and these guys all feel like they are going to win every single day. Marco Gonzales did not have his best stuff once again but battled and gave a well-rested bullpen 5.1 innings of two run ball. That is completely acceptable from a guy like Marco. He isn’t going to blow teams away, but if he can keep the damage to a minimum and let the bullpen dominate, then we can’t complain. Remember, this is the same guy who can turn it on when the lights are the brightest. Don’t forget, Marco beat both Max Scherzer and Kevin Gausman in back-to-back outings earlier this season. This guy knows how to pitch.

Top Performers

Mariners

• Eugenio Suarez- 2-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R
• Ty France- 2-4, 2 RBI
• Marco Gonzales (W, 8-12)- 5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO

Athletics

• Chad Pinder- 2-3, RBI
• Sean Murphy- 1-3, R, BB
• Cole Irvin (L, 6-11)- 6 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO

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