Mariners muster only three hits in 8-1 loss to A’s
SEATTLE – The juxtaposition of the results in a 24-hour span was striking but probably shouldn’t have been surprising given what has transpired this season.
Each time the Mariners have put together a strong showing at the plate, amassing base runners through hits and walks, scoring runs with timely hitting or homers, there is hopeful talk of it becoming a consistent result, or at least something more than it’s been.
But in the first 40 games of this season, those hopes have remained just that, and the production has yet to be sustained or rarely repeated for even a handful of games.
So after starting this homestand with a decisive victory over the A’s featuring eight runs and double-digit hits, the Mariners followed it up by mustering three hits and getting drubbed 8-1 in a loss that turned lopsided with Seattle’s bullpen allowing six runs in the final two innings.
It wasn’t how the Mariners or the 32,398 fans in attendance at T-Mobile Park wanted to end a magical Saturday that featured stunning summer-like weather.
Oakland starter Joey Estes, who was recalled from Triple-A before the game to face Seattle, tossed five innings, allowing one run on two hits with no walks and five strikeouts while four Oakland relievers pitched shutout innings.
Cal Raleigh provided the Mariners’ only run on the evening. With one out in the second inning, he hit a first-pitch cutter that Estes left in the middle of the plate, sending it deep in the seats in right-center for a 1-0 lead. It was his team-leading 10th homer of the season.
The Mariners got a workable if not dominant outing from starter Bryce Miller, who pitched six innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts while taking the loss.
After Raleigh provided a 1-0 lead, Miller allowed two runs in the top of the third. The problems started with a leadoff walk to Lawrence Butler. Brett Harris followed with a single through the left side and former Mariner Abraham Toro tied the game with a single to right. Miller came back to retire the next two batters and looked like he might get out of the inning with only one run allowed. But Brent Rooker hit a bloop single just inside the right-field foul line to score Harris for a 2-1 lead.
The A’s broke it open in the eighth. After working a scoreless seventh, Ryne Stanek came out for the eighth inning. He allowed a leadoff double to Tyler Nevin.
M’s manager Scott Servais called on lefty Gabe Speier. The A’s sac bunted Nevin to third and Speier walked Rooker, who later stole second. Speier struck out pinch-hitter J.D. Davis for the second out of the inning. Seattle intentionally walked pinch-hitter Shea Langeliers to load the bases. But Max Schuemann yanked a double into the corner to clear the bases for a 5-1 lead.
The A’s added three more in the ninth off reliever Eduard Bazardo, scoring on a wild pitch and JJ Bleday’s two-run homer.
Prospect watch
Felnin Celesten, in his first five professional games, is 7 for 16 with three doubles, five walks and one strikeout for the Mariners’ rookie-league Arizona team. The Mariners signed Celesten for a club-record $4.7 million signing bonus out of the Dominican Republic in January 2023. The 18-year-old shortstop did not play last year because of a hamstring injury. He’s expected to earn a promotion soon to Low-A Modesto.