8/21/22

Athletics 5, Mariners 3

(Oakland, CA) A nine game road trip in the MLB is going to be difficult regardless of those teams on your schedule. However, when competing for a playoff spot you still need to go and take care of business against those weaker teams. The Mariners did finish with a winning record on the road trip despite losing two of the three series. Seattle would finish the nine games not with a strong statement but instead a disappointing head scratcher in Oakland.

With Luis Castillo on the mound, the M’s had a great opportunity to take the series and head home with a 6-3 record on the road trip. It would turn out to be a hiccup start for Castillo as Oakland came out very aggressive. Back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the 1st by Seth Brown and Sean Murphy gave Oakland a very quick 1-0 lead.

The Mariners would try to counter quick in the top of the 2nd. J.P. Crawford would stay hot with a perfectly placed drag bunt with one out. Dylan Moore would then parachute a fly ball down the left field line for a base hit that put runners on the corners. Moore would then steal second to take away the double play opportunity. Seattle couldn’t capitalize as Curt Casali struck out looking and Adam Frazier popped up to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Oakland would add on. Jonah Bride would walk to leadoff the inning and Shea Langeliers would double to put runners on second and third with nobody out. A Cal Stevenson sacrifice fly would score a run and move Langeliers to third. Nick Allen would get a base hit to right to make it 3-0 Oakland still early.

Seattle would breakthrough and get on the scoreboard in the 3rd. Unfortunately, a double lay would have the bases empty with two outs. On the positive side of things, Mitch Haniger would hit a no doubter onto the stairs in left field for his fifth home run of the season to make it 3-1.

Oakland would get that run back in the bottom of the 5th. Tony Kemp would use his speed to manufacture another run. Kemp would reach on a bunt single and then stole second with one out. After Castillo recorded his fifth and final strikeout for the second out, veteran Stephen Vogt came up with a two out RBI single to center to make it a three-run lead for the A’s at 4-1.

The 7th inning would be the big one for the Mariners. Dylan Moore would be on second base after an error with two outs. Cal Raleigh would pinch hit and Moore would move to third on a balk but with two outs, Raleigh still needed a hit. He would get that hit with a double to left to drive in Moore and make it 4-2. Zach Jackson came in from the bullpen for Oakland to face Julio Rodriguez. Julio would line a base hit to center to score Raleigh from second and make it a one run game at 4-3.

In the top of the 8th, Seattle was in a good spot to tie the game. Carlos Santana would draw a walk and Sam Haggerty would pinch run for him with one out. Haggerty would steal another base and Eugenio Suarez would walk to put runners on first and second. Haggerty would then steal third to give him ten stolen bases on the year. With runners on the corners and one out, J.P. Crawford hit a hard line drive right at second baseman Jonah Bride for the second out. Dylan Moore would then groundout to short to end the Mariner threat.

An insurance run would be scored in the bottom of the 8th after an RBI triple by Shea Langeliers to make it 5-3. Cal Raleigh would hit another double but that would be it in the 9th for the Mariners as they dropped the rubber game of the series 5-3 to end the road trip.

The Mariners (66-56) didn’t get hurt too bad in the Wild Card race despite another tough weekend. Seattle sits in a three-way tie with Toronto and Tampa Bay to take up the three Wild Card spots in the American League. Those three teams sit 2.5 games ahead of Minnesota and Baltimore who are on the outside looking in. Seattle has another day off on Monday as they travel home to start a two-game set with the Washington Nationals. In game one on Tuesday at 7:10p, Robbie Ray (9-8, 3.87 ERA) will get the start for the Mariners against Erick Fedde (5-7, 4.95 ERA) for the Nationals. Oakland will start a three-game series on Monday with the Miami Marlins at 6:40p.

Matt’s Takeaway

This just wasn’t a fun weekend of baseball. The M’s couldn’t get a big hit after the Friday game and left way too many runners on base. The defense was just bad for the first time this season. I think that will get corrected after the off day. Perry Hill is too good of a defensive coach for these issues to continue. The outfield communication reminds me of the same issues Rodriguez and Winker had early in the season and that got corrected quickly. Every pitcher is also going to have a bad day here and there. Castillo will be just fine. The unfortunate thing was that this all happened against a bad team in Oakland. Seattle needs to show that it was just a tough stretch and show everyone that they aren’t going to overlook anyone on their schedule. The Mariners need to take care of business against Washington and sweeping the two-game series shouldn’t be a problem for a team that looks like they are playoff bound.

Top Performers

Mariners

• Cal Raleigh- 2-2, 2 2B, RBI, R
• Julio Rodriguez- 3-5, RBI
• Luis Castillo (L, 5-5)- 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

Athletics

• Shea Langeliers- 3-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, R
• Sean Murphy- 2-3, 2B, RBI
• JP Sears (W, 5-0)- 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

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