M’s late rally falls short in 7-6 loss to A’s
Published 1:30 am Monday, August 13, 2018
Herald news services
OAKLAND, Calif. — Their first head-to-head meeting since the realization they would be vying with each other for one of the coveted spots in the American League wild-card game played out similar to the past month and a half of results for each team.
The Oakland A’s made all the necessary defensive plays, delivered the key hits with runners in scoring position and got a solid outing from their most productive starting pitcher to find a way to victory. The Mariners fell just short in those areas for the first seven innings and in the overall final outcome Monday night, a 7-6 Oakland victory.
And yet with two out in the ninth inning, the Mariners had the tying run at second base and the go-ahead run at first with Nelson Cruz at the plate facing A’s closer Blake Treinen. It’s a situation that seemed unlikely for much of the evening considering Seattle trailed 7-1 after the seventh inning.
“I really like the way we are competing,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “I thought the at-bats were outstanding. It just wasn’t quite enough.”
Cruz just missed the first pitch of the at-bat — a mistake by Treinen over the middle of the plate — fouling it straight back and rolling his eyes at the missed opportunity. He never saw another a pitch quite that hittable, striking out to end the ninth-inning drama.
“We had the right guys up there and some great at-bats in the ninth inning against their back-end guys,” Servais said. “Cruzie had a great swing at that first pitch, so close, you’re right there. A heck of a comeback. Our guys continue to fight. Some good at-bats late in the game.”
The Mariners entered the ninth down 7-3 with nasty right-hander Jeurys Familia, the Mets former closer, looking to close out a non-save situation and give Treinen a night off. But Familia walked Ryon Healy, Mike Zunino and pinch-hitter Denard Span to load the bases. It forced A’s manager Bob Melvin to go to his All-Star closer. Treinen allowed one run to score on a wild pitch and later gave up a one-out, two-run single to Mitch Haniger that cut the lead to one run. But he struck out Cameron Maybin for the second out of the inning and was able to shrug off an infield single by Jean Segura that put the go-ahead run on base.
“We put something together late in the game,” Segura said. “We put some pressure on them late in the game. You don’t want to wait until the last inning to do that. Their bullpen is really good. Treinen has been unbelievable. We came here to win, but they are a good team too and they’re playing well. When you are down by six and you make them throw their closer in a game, it makes you feel good. We tried to make it a really good finish.”
Instead, Seattle had its four-game winning streak snapped, falling to 69-51 and 2 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second wild-card spot.
The A’s simply played at a higher level than the Mariners on Monday and it has been that way since about mid-June. In their past 49 games, the A’s are 37-12. Their place in the standings ahead of Seattle has been earned, not bequeathed because of the Mariners’ uneven play.
But beyond the defeat against a team standing in the way of their first postseason spot since 2001, the Mariners’ larger concern should be a second consecutive outing from Marco Gonzales that wasn’t indicative of the quality of starts he’s had this season.
“It just hasn’t been as sharp or crisp,” Servais said. “The stuff is down a little bit and coming out in the first inning, it’s taken him a little while to get into the game. But nothing big you can point out. He just hasn’t been as crisp. The cutter hasn’t been an effective pitch as it has been earlier in the year. It happens. You go through streaks. He was on such a good roll the last two or three. He just hasn’t been as sharp. You still like having him out there. He’s a good competitor, and he did keep us in the game.”
Gonzales struggled again to command his pitches to his liking, falling behind in counts and failing to throw quality strikes early or when needed. The borderline pitches he needed to have either missed by just enough to be balls or weren’t called.
“I have high expectations for executing pitches,” Gonzales said. “If there is any frustration at all, that’s where it comes from. I’m confident in the process of bouncing back from starts and taking it as an opportunity to learn from it and hopefully come out and be better the next time.”
He pitched just five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with an uncharacteristic three walks and four strikeouts. The numbers could have been worse if not for an inning-ending double play in the fourth and a gloved line drive in the fifth.
Gonzales had just one inning without base runners reaching scoring position. It was a grind against an A’s lineup that is far more dangerous than earlier in the season.
“Marco hung in there and I certainly appreciate that,” Servais said. “He did keep us in the game. It wasn’t his sharpest outing. Oakland is very patient. They control the strike zone, they grind at-bats. If you’re not on top of your game, they’ll run a pitch count up on you. They’ve been doing that to not just him but a lot of people lately.”
The easy analysis would be fatigue. Gonzales has 142 2/3 innings this season, eclipsing the high of 126 2/3 he threw in 2017. The offday Thursday will allow the entire rotation to move back a day, but is Gonzales tiring from the workload?
“It’s a good question,” Servais said. “He has grinded through. He’s had a number of outstanding outings for us. He’s kind of at a new level for him with the innings pitched. He will get an extra day before he goes out next time. I think it will really help him. We’re in that stretch where we played 14, 15 consecutive games, and he’s had to toe it up. So an extra day certainly will help him next time out.”
Gonzales didn’t think it was a good question.
“No,” he said flatly. “No, I feel confident in where I’m at and how my body feels.”
Oakland grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Matt Chapman notched his first of three doubles on the night and scored on Jed Lowrie’s single to right field that Haniger bobbled, which prevented him from attempting a throw home.
After the only 1-2-3 inning of his outing in the second, Gonzales walked Marcus Semien to start the third. Chapman followed with a soft fly ball to right field that Haniger couldn’t quite make a sliding grab on. It went for a double and set up Lowrie’s two-run double into the left-field corner that made it 3-0. Matt Olson’s two-out single to right field pushed the lead to 4-0.
That was more than enough cushion for A’s starter Sean Manaea. The big lefty pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hit with two walks and three strikeouts.
The Mariners picked up their first run against Manaea in a fourth inning and could’ve gotten more. But Chapman, the should-be winner of the American League Gold Glove at third base, made a brilliant diving stop and throw to first on what should have been a single and maybe an RBI for Segura. Kyle Seager later drove in Haniger from second with a single to center, but that play by Chapman took away the chances of a big inning.
“Any time you hit it in that hole, you think you have a chance for a hit,” Segura said. “But he’s a really good third baseman and for me one of the best defensive third baseman I’ve seen. That kid is really good.”
Right-hander Casey Lawrence replaced Gonzales in the sixth and gave up three runs, allowing a two-run double to Chapman and a run-scoring double to Lowrie. Chapman and Lowrie combined for six hits, including five doubles and six RBI on the night. With the bullpen being used heavily in the series with Houston, Lawrence, who is expected to be optioned to Tacoma when Robinson Cano comes off suspension, pitched the final three innings.
