Iwakuma leads Mariners to 4-3 victory over Athletics
Published 9:15 pm Saturday, August 13, 2016
By Bob Dutton
The News Tribune
OAKLAND, Calif. — Hisashi Iwakuma leads the majors in victories since May 20, and if that seems an arbitrary date, so be it.
On Saturday, he won again in large part because he only needed to be good enough to get a lead to the Mariners’ bullpen. A four-reliever relay closed out a 4-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics with 32⁄33 scoreless innings.
“This reminds me of when I was playing back in New York,” second baseman Robinson Cano said. “We have the best bullpen in the game right now. We just need to stay ahead until we get late in the game.”
When rookie closer Edwin Diaz got the final three outs for his sixth save in six chances, the Mariners had their seventh victory in eight games. At 61-54, they remained two games behind Boston for the final wild-card spot.
“Our bullpen was outstanding,” manager Scott Servais said. “It was the story of the game. They were very good, and they needed to be. We didn’t have much room for error.”
Iwakuma (14-7) gave up three runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings but won for the 13th time in 16 starts since May 20. Another arbitrary date: the Mariners’ bullpen has a 1.18 ERA since Aug. 1.
The Mariners are 9-3 in that span.
Arquimedes Caminero inherited that one-run lead to start the Oakland seventh, which began when Coco Crisp reached on pop-fly single into center between four players.
Crisp stole second with one out — and did so easily. He moved to third on Stephen Vogt’s grounder to first, but Caminero struck out Khris Davis on five fastballs: 100 mph, 99, 101, 101 and 100.
“I had a man on third,” Caminero said, “and I didn’t want to give up the tying run. I don’t want to get beat on my second- or third-best pitches.”
Tom Wilhelmsen followed with a one-two-three eighth inning before Diaz closed it out.
The Mariners put runners on second and third with one out in the ninth inning on Chris Iannetta’s line-hugging double but failed to score when Ketel Marte hit a weak pop to short and Nori Aoki grounded out.
It didn’t matter. Diaz made the one-run lead stand up.
Iwakuma wasn’t top form. He awoke Friday with a sore neck, presumably from sleeping wrong. It wasn’t until noon Saturday that Servais was convinced Iwakuma would even make the start.
“It speaks to the type of professional he is,” Servais said. “He just goes out there and battles.”
Iwakuma worked around some early trouble and appeared in command when he entered the sixth inning with a 4-1 lead. But Davis’ leadoff homer, and Billy Butler’s one-out double brought the bullpen into the game.
The Athletics scored twice in the inning.
“As the game progressed,” Iwakuma said, “I started to feel stiffness. As you saw, my body (on his delivery) started to fly open. My elbow wasn’t as high as I wanted it to be.
“Today, I got very lucky for the win. I got very lucky in general.”
Luck favors a strong bullpen.
Oakland starter Kendall Graveman (8-8) gave up four runs in six innings.
Nelson Cruz tied the game with a leadoff homer in a fourth inning, before Cano capped a three-run fifth with a two-run shot on a line drive to center.
“I was just hoping it would go over (the center fielder’s head,” Cano said. “I knew I hit it good, but in Oakland with the weather here… With the heat, the ball flies more. But thank God, it went out.”
That was all the Mariners got.
It was all they needed.
