The Mariners, 2-8 in their last 10 games, lost at home to Oakland 4-2 on Friday night.
Advertisement
Like so numerous Mariners’ 86 losses this season, late-inning failure from the bullpen was the ultimate undoing.
Former Athletic Seth Smith hit a tie-breaking homer off Ryan tiresome in the eighth to lift the Mariners to a 3-2 victory at Safeco Field. “I don’t know. Sometimes you do stuff that you can’t explain”.
Given a 5-4 lead to hold in the top of the ninth, Tom Wilhelmsen couldn’t close out a win, blowing his second save since taking over closing duties. Wilhelmsen walked Billy Burns to lead off the inning, then hit Mark Canha. A wild pitch moved them into scoring position and a sac fly from Brett Lawrie tied the game at 5, sending it into extra innings. Nuno is 0-1 with a 10.00 ERA in five games (two starts) against the Athletics, allowing three hits in 1 1/3 innings over three relief appearances versus Oakland this season.WALK-OFFS1.
“I went to the trainer (Rick Griffin) and told him it was tight”, Cruz said. Robinson Cano hit a home run, Ketel Marte had a hit, and Franklin Gutierrez had a hit as the Mariners scored five runs on 11 hits.
In a game pitting two teams out of playoff contention, it was somewhat fitting that the first run was scored on an error.
Mariners starter Roenis Elias had one of his worst outings of the season, giving up three runs in the first inning and getting knocked out of the game without recording an out in the third. In the third inning, the Athletics loaded the bases without an out against Elias on a single and two walks, leading Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon to bring in reliever Tony Zych.
Oakland’s last three-game winning streak came on August. 29-31.
Canha drove a ball over the centerfield wall in the third for his 16th homer of the season to cap off a two-run rally. It’s the longest current streak in baseball and the longest of Cano’s career. Valencia has the most homers (tied with Rico Carty in 1978) and RBIs (37) of any Athletics player who played fewer than 50 games in a season. If he does elect for the procedure, recovery time will be about six week and it is expected he would be fully recovered for spring training, according to Melvin.
Nelson Cruz aggravated his strained right quadriceps muscle while running out a grounder in the ninth inning.
LHP Vidal Nuno has been one of the more valuable pitchers on the Mariners’ staff this season, despite his 1-4 record and 5.36 ERA as a starter.
Advertisement
Bassitt hadn’t completed as many as four innings in his first two starts back from a shoulder injury.
