A’s fall to Mariners, 4-3

“You’re hoping, when we tied it, we’d get a little energy there”.

The Oakland Athletics rode the bats, which heated up in the closing innings of Thursday’s 9-6 loss, to a 6-3 series-opening victory over the Seattle Mariners.

The Seattle Mariners got the win on Saturday as they remain two games back in the American League Wildcard standings. Another arbitrary date: the Mariners’ bullpen has a 1.18 ERA since August 1.

Zunino’s improvements on offense have made the Mariners comfortable with him playing in the big leagues again, and general manager Jerry Dipoto told “Danny, Dave and Moore” that they’re now reaping the benefits of his defensive prowess as a result.

In their last game, the Mariners won by a margin of one run.

Crisp stole second with one out – and did so easily. Nick Vincent, Arquimedes Caminero, Tom Wilhelmsen and Diaz didn’t allow a run in 32/3 innings. For the first three innings, Graveman was able to skirt this problem as Mariner line-drives would get hit straight at well-positioned fielders and the Mariners were always unable to string together enough hits in order to have a sustained rally, but in the fourth inning, after falling behind the A’s 1-0, the empire would strike back. “It’s about staying focused and knowing what they’re trying to do to you and put the barrel on the ball”.

The Athletics scored twice in the inning.

Both pitches caught too much plate – in the fourth to Cruz and in the fifth on Cano’s two-run shot.

Oakland replaced starter Kendall Graveman with John Axford to start the seventh inning.

The M’s pounced on the 24 year-old in the sixth, posting two hits and two runs 11 pitches into the inning.

That was all the Mariners got.

Davis, the only batter on Oakland’s roster who had faced Wieland, lined an opposite field, two-run homer in the first that had the A’s players and coaches buzzing long after the game ended. But Marcus Semien and Stephen Vogt started the Oakland sixth inning with singles.

The Mariners got a force at second on Max Muncy’s grounder to short, but Coco Crisp’s grounder to the right side skipped off Cano’s glove for an RBI single that run snapped Iwakuma’s scoreless streak at 15 1/3 innings.

Iwakuma held the tie by pitching around Butler’s leadoff double later in the inning. 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 flawless and handsome slides into home the A’s have had in a long while. Marte scored from second; the Athletics might have had a play at the plate until Davis misplayed the ball. It was Cano’s 26th of the season. This one went 426 feet.

Joe Wieland had successfully weathered the first-inning storm of hits, runs and nerves. Iwakuma is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two starts versus Oakland this year and 7-5 with a 3.83 ERA in 13 career appearances (12 starts) against the Athletics.Graveman has won seven of his last eight decisions after getting off to a 1-6 start.