Game #114: Mariners cruz to 6-3 victory over A’s

The Oakland A’s fell to the Mariners 6-3 on Wednesday, in the afternoon finale of a quick two-game series. Seattle got a pair of homers from Nelson Cruz and another from Kyle Seager, and their bullpen sealed the deal down the stretch. On the bright side, I’m pretty sure two games doesn’t count as a sweep.

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The A’s answered back every time the Mariners scored, just not loudly enough. Seattle got going right away with Seager’s three-run dinger in the 1st, but Matt Joyce’s response in the bottom of the frame was only a solo job. Cruz added a two-run homer in the 3rd, but once again Khris Davis’ rebuttal in the bottom half was only a solo shot. Cruz tacked on another in the 5th, but Oakland’s subsequent rally resulted in only one run thanks to an amazing catch by Ben Gamel.

Both starting pitchers got knocked around, both lineups managed 10 baserunners and notched some big hits but didn’t have massive days, and neither side recorded a defensive error. But the Mariners did just a little bit more on the margins to earn this win.

Looking at some of the youngsters:

• Matts Olson and Chapman each went 1-for-4 with a single and 3 Ks
• Ryon Healy, Bruce Maxwell, and Jaycob Brugman each took 0-fers, but Maxwell and Bruggy each managed a walk at least
• Jharel Cotton gave up three homers (final line: 6 ip, 6 ER, 4 Ks, 1 BB, 3 HR)
• Not exactly a youngster, but relatively new reliever Simon Castro threw a clean inning (2.63 ERA)

This was a fairly ho-hum August afternoon loss for a rebuilding team. Come back and get ‘em next time. Oakland opens a home series against the Orioles tomorrow at 7:05 p.m., Chris Smith vs. Wade Miley. Let’s conclude with some Khrush Appreciation.