Game #157: A’s walloped by Mariners 13-4

The Oakland A’s scored the first three runs on Monday! But then they went on to allow 13 after that.

The A’s lost to the Seattle Mariners yet again, this time by a 13-4 blowout in the opener of a series at T-Mobile Park. That same 13-4 margin also represents Seattle’s record against Oakland in 17 meetings this season.

*** Click here to revisit tonight’s Game Thread! ***

The first two innings went really well. The A’s hit a three-run homer in the 1st, and they held that lead until the bottom of the 3rd. Then the Mariners tied it, and added five more in the 4th, and three more in the 6th, and finally two more in the 7th to turn the game into a rout.

The good part

Oakland got on the board right away. With two outs in the top of the 1st, they lined a pair of singles and then Seth Brown delivered a dinger. It was a wallscraper, going only 364 feet and not even reaching the first row of seats, but it counts the same.

After Seattle tied it up in the 3rd, the A’s answered back in the 4th to retake the lead, on an RBI single by Khris Davis.

That’s the end of The Good Part section.

The bad part

Oakland put two more runners on in the 5th inning. Then their final 13 batters were retired in order for the rest of the evening.

Along the way, Matt Chapman struck out for the 198th time this year, setting a new single-season franchise record previously held by Jack Cust. Chapman’s milestone strikeout came against former A’s star Sean Doolittle, who was pitching against Oakland for the first time in his career.

On the other side of the ball, Seattle exploded at the plate. Starter Cole Irvin allowed three runs in the 3rd, then was pulled after walking the first two batters of the 4th, who both later came around to score.

• Irvin: 3+ ip, 5 runs, 4 Ks, 3 BB, 6 hits, 68 pitches, 83.8 mph EV

He only gave up four pieces of hard contact, but those and the walks were enough to sink him.

That’s the fifth time Irvin faced the Mariners this year, and they beat him all five times. Back in May, after the first of those defeats, Irvin said of them, “A team like that should not be putting up 10 hits against me or anyone.”

After Irvin’s exit, the first reliever in was Deolis Guerra, but he couldn’t stop the Mariners either. He got the first out, but then came two singles to drive in his inherited runners, and then a homer by Mitch Haniger. Suddenly it was a five-run inning, and Seattle was in the lead permanently.

Next out of the bullpen was James Kaprielian, and he kept things quiet until the 6th, when Haniger blasted another homer.

Truth hurts.

Even Sam Moll was tagged for two runs, the first time he’s been scored upon this year. With the bases loaded in the 7th, the batter hit a comeback grounder to the mound, but it bounced off Moll and trickled through the SS-3B hole and into left field. It was like if Rube Goldberg designed a seeing-eye grounder.

The 13 runs were a season-high for the Mariners.

Shipwrecked

The last time the A’s lost to a team other than Seattle was Sept. 14. They’ve won eight times during that span against three different opponents, and lost five to the Mariners including a four-game sweep at the Coliseum last week. That specific Poseidon’s Heel is a big reason why Oakland isn’t going to the playoffs, and with tonight’s loss they are officially eliminated from contention in the AL West division.