Mariners drop 2nd straight to last-place A’s

Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. (— Luis Torrens homered for one of four hits by the stumbling Seattle Mariners as they were shut down again by the last-place Oakland Athletics, losing 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Torrens connected in the eighth for Seattle’s lone bright spot after he had been called up earlier in the day. The Mariners are in the third and final AL wild-card position, four games in front of Baltimore.

Seattle manager Scott Servais spoke to his team Wednesday after being limited to one hit a night earlier about not trying to do too much and playing at the same level that has made Seattle so successful this year.

“You just have to stick to your standard,” he said. ”We’re in a dip right now.”

Pinch-hitter Vimael Machin hit an RBI double in the seventh and Tony Kemp added a run-scoring single later that inning against Erik Swanson (2-1), a day after his three-run homer lifted Oakland past the Mariners 4-1.

Kaprielian (4-9) allowed two hits and struck out six with one walk over seven scoreless innings to outduel left-hander Robbie Ray.

Ray, who had a 2.41 ERA with 28 strikeouts in three previous starts against the A’s this year, struck out seven with three walks and surrendered three hits over six scoreless innings.

Domingo Acevedo finished for his fourth save.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mariners: 3B Eugenio Suárez, placed on the injured list Saturday with a fractured right index finger, has begun taking light swings again with both a softer ball and regular baseballs. He is scheduled to hit batting practice during this weekend’s series in Kansas City. “Geno feels much better,” Servais said. … C Cal Raleigh returned to the lineup after sitting out four of the previous five games because of a sore left thumb.