8/20/22

Athletics 4, Mariners 3

(Oakland, CA) One thing that has been consistent all season for the Mariners is that they are one of the best defensive teams in baseball. In fact, no team has committed fewer errors in all of baseball than Seattle. Saturday was not a good example of the team’s defensive prowess. Miscues and mistakes proved too costly for the Mariners as they dropped game two of their three-game series with the Oakland Athletics.

For the second straight game, the Mariners would get on the board in the top of the 1st. Julio Rodriguez drove one to right center to lead off the ballgame and recorded his third triple of the season. Ty France would immediately bring him in with a sacrifice fly to center to give Seattle the early 1-0 lead.

The next run would also be set up by a triple. In the top of the 4th, Eugenio Suarez would hit a fly ball that kept carrying out to right field. Oakland outfielder Chad Pinder tried to make the catch but would come up empty as the ball hit off the wall. By the time Cal Stevenson could track down the ball, Suarez was headed to third with his second triple of the season. Adam Frazier would hit a fly ball to deep left field that was caught by Tony Kemp but allowed Suarez to score to make it 2-0 Mariners.

The bottom of the 5th would turn into a nightmare for the Mariners defense. Vimael Machin would hit a routine groundball to Frazier at second and it would bounce off of Frazier’s shin allowing Machin to reach on the error. A single by Jonah Bride put runners on the corners with no outs. Nick Allen would drive a fly ball to right that Jake Lamb would lose in the sun and it would drop right in front of him for a base hit to score Machin and put Oakland on the board at 2-1.

Runners would be moved up after Cal Stevenson laid down a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third with one out. Tony Kemp would continue his great day for Oakland and lined a base hit to center field to score Bride and Allen and give the A’s a 3-2 lead.

Neither team could get much offense going until the top of the 8th. Mitch Haniger would reach on a one out single and J.P. Crawford moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Eugenio Suarez came up big again for the Mariners with a base hit to left to easily score Haniger to tie the game at 3-3.

Seattle would threaten to score in the 9th after a Julio Rodriguez single and stolen base with two outs. Unfortunately, Ty France would hit a rocket to left right at Tony Kemp to end the inning. Oakland went quietly in the 9th to send the game to extra innings.

Seattle would continue to square up the ball but had nothing to show for it. With the runner starting on second base, Jesse Winker hit a bullet right at Seth Brown at first for out number one. Mitch Haniger then hit a grounder to short and Ty France tried to advance to third but as thrown out for the second out. J.P. Crawford hit another line drive but right at second baseman Jonah Bride to end the top of the 10th.

Diego Castillo would pitch the bottom of the 10th for Seattle. They would intentionally walk Seth Brown to put runners at first and second with nobody out. He would then walked Sean Murphy to load the bases with nobody out and the winning run at third. Sheldon Neuse hit a bouncing ball between the pitcher’s mound and first base. Ty France came in to make the play, but Castillo would try to field the ball going backward but couldn’t field it cleanly. Kemp would score from third to give Oakland the 4-3 win.

The Mariners (66-55) are now tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the top Wild Card spot in the American League. They remain one game ahead of Tampa Bay and 2.5 games ahead of Minnesota. The M’s are still in a good spot for the playoffs headed into the rubber game of the three-game set with Oakland (44-77) on Sunday at 1:07p. Luis Castillo (5-4, 2.73 ERA) looks to stay hot with the Mariners against JP Sears (4-0, 1.95 ERA) who has only allowed two runs since being traded from New York to Oakland.

Matt’s Takeaway

This one obviously wasn’t fun. It was very frustrating to see Logan Gilbert pitch a solid game but not get help from the defense. I also understand why Diego Castillo went for the ball in the 10th. I can’t fault for him for trying to make a play to extend the game. While France looked to be able to make the play, Castillo has to just go on instincts. I am more worried why Jake Lamb continues to get more playing time than Dylan Moore. Moore has done it all for the Mariners and he deserves to get playing time down the stretch as this team pushes for the postseason.

Top Performers

Mariners

• Eugenio Suarez- 2-3, 3B, RBI, R, BB
• Julio Rodriguez- 3-5, 3B, R, SB
• Logan Gilbert (ND)- 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO

Athletics

• Tony Kemp- 2-4, 2 RBI, R, Great Defense
• Nick Allen- 1-4, RBI, R
• James Kaprielian (ND)- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO