Those disappointed in being unable to see a Butler triple would not be disappointed for long, as Jake Smolinski would follow by hitting a pitch at chin level the opposite way into the right-center field gap, and, aided by Smith’s throw going to second rather than to a cutoff man, Butler scored from second on the single, narrowly, with one of the most ideal and handsome slides into home the A’s have had in a long while. Must’ve been some kind of Jedi mind trick. However, today, Graveman chose to turn off his targeting computer, instead choosing to trust in his midi-chlorians, but instead of piercing through the oversized, overpowered heart of the Mariners order, far too many pitches of Graveman were landing far too up in the zone and would get hit hard. “That changeup to Alonzo. that ball was a little bit up”.
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Cruz’s homer tied the game at 1-all in the fifth. Graveman is 7-1 over his past 13 starts.
The Athletics scored twice in the inning.
A’s catcher Stephen Vogt was as perplexed as Graveman over the homers. First it was Shawn O’Malley with a first-pitch double, before being sent to third on an Aoki grounder.
“Anytime you can get a win and give up less runs than your team scores”, he said, “you’ve got to be happy about it”. Kyle Seager would double him in a moment later, and would himself be driven in by a Canó single on-you guessed it-the first pitch. Robbie scored 2 of the 6 Mariner runs on the night, and put up his 27th double of the season.
Oakland DH Billy Butler had a big night with three hits, and as such was part of whatever the A’s offense could muster.
Ryon Healy and Brett Eibner also homered for the A’s.
Butler’s second hit was a leadoff double in the fourth, but the A’s weren’t able to score him.
Most players with 23 homers and 54 RBIs, both second on the team to Khris Davis, would hit lower in the lineup to capitalize on their RBI potential.
PLAY OF THE GAME: All four Mariners’ infielders surrounded a high two-out pop by Jake Smolinski near the back of the pitchers’ mound in the third inning.
From that point on, the A’s bats went as silent as the fireworks audio. The most important thing about the win is that the M’s are now on a 5-game winning streak, their longest W-streak of the season!
The two-run homer gave Seattle a 4-1 lead. He only faces right-handers part-time, but that could change with continued success like that. He struck out a season-high seven and walked one. Doolittle, who hasn’t pitched since June 25, is being sent out on an injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Nashville. Mariners LHP James Paxton (left elbow contusion) will start Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels, manager Scott Servais said. Hahn, who last pitched on August 5, is eligible to return from the disabled list next Saturday.
Catcher Josh Phegley took batting practice with the A’s on Saturday for the first time since knee surgery nearly seven weeks ago. He’d hoped to rejoin the rotation in June after having shoulder surgery in July 2015, but he’s had two setbacks.
Mike Zunino’s improvements at the plate have allowed the Mariners to enjoy the fruits of his defensive ability.
The A’s signed third baseman Jordan Diaz of Colombia.
It has been more than six weeks since the A’s have won a game by more than three runs.
Seattle had come back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game in the sixth on an RBI triple from Shawn O’Malley and a Franklin Gutierrez sacrifice fly, but five consecutive hits to begin the bottom of the sixth reestablished Oakland’s control of this one.
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Butler didn’t get much playing time earlier in the season but has been one of the A’s top hitters as of late. With Wade LeBlanc set to face Zach Neal in the pitching matchup, the over/under now sits at 9 runs, up from the opening number of 8.5.
