Seattle Mariners Explode For Season-High in Runs Against Oakland Athletics
The Seattle Mariners came into Wednesday's game against the Oakland Athletics on a four-game losing streak. All those games were one-run losses and three were walk-offs. Whether it was frustration over how the last four days had went or simply a motivation to right the ship, Seattle didn't give Oakland a chance to do the same thing thrice.
The Mariners put up a season-high in runs and snapped their four-game skid with a 16-3 win against the Athletics on Wednesday. It was the most runs scored by Seattle in a single game since a comeback win against the San Diego Padres on June 6, 2016.
The Mariners gained a game on the Astros and moved to 5.5 games behind them in the American League West. They're still 5.5 games out of the third AL Wild Card with the win. Seattle improved to 70-70 on the year.
"A lot of positives tonight. Up and down the lineup," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview Wednesday. " ... Offensively, we did a ton of great stuff up and down the lineup. Huge game for (Mitch Garver) — (Luis Urias) as well. Just some great at-bats all around. Using the other field, some great two-strike at bats. We've been talking a lot about the effort being there all week. These guys continued to fight and today was a great way for them to be able to bust out. A lot of positives everywhere."
The Athletics got in front first after Brent Rooker hit an RBI single in the bottom of the opening inning.
It was one of a pair of blemishes for Seattle starting pitcher George Kirby. He had his first quality start since Aug. 18 after going six innings pitched and allowing six hits and two earned runs. He struck out nine batters and didn't let up a free base.
George Kirby's 7th and 8th Ks...thru 4. pic.twitter.com/2uZZ9G29BG
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 5, 2024
Garver pulled the Mariners back in front with a two-run double in the top of the second and had an RBI single one inning later to put Seattle up 3-1. Garver's single kick started one of several multi-run innings for the Mariners. Urias had an RBI double and Dylan Moore had an RBI single to bolster Seattle's advantage to 5-1.
Garver gets us on the board 👊 #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/WuvkqAowSA
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 5, 2024
JJ Bleday gave Oakland its second run with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth.
The Mariners second multi-run inning came in the top of the seventh. Urias had a solo home run, Julio Rodriguez had an RBI single, Randy Arozarena had a two-run double, Victor Robles brought in a score with a single, Urias was walked with the bases loaded and Moore brought in another score with a sacrifice fly. By the end of the inning, Seattle owned a 12-2 lead.
7️⃣ in the 7️⃣th! #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/klDxPeZXot
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 5, 2024
Zack Gelof scored the Athletics' third and final run in the bottom of the seventh courtesy of a Max Schuemann ground out.
Then Seattle put the cherry on top of its season-high offensive showcase with four more runs in the top of the eighth.
Robles had a two-RBI double, Garver brought Justin Turner in with a ground out and Urias had an RBI double for the eventual final of 16-3.
The bottom four batters in the Mariners' order (Robles, Garver, Urias, Moore) combined for 13 RBIs on 10 hits. Urias and Robles both went 3-for-4 and every single batter in Seattle's lineup recorded a base hit.
Luis Urías gets his steps in with a no-doubter 🚀 pic.twitter.com/zWBtheDPJH
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 5, 2024
As good as Wednesday was for Seattle, it doesn't erase the previous four games on the road trip. Four one-run losses hurt, espeically this late in the season.
But with 22 games left, maybe Wednesday can be something of a blueprint for the Mariners to follow to avoid close games in the future and take advantage of their weak schedule.
Seattle will hope to come out of its last-ever series at Oakland Coliseum with a split. The Mariners will play the Athletics in a series finale at 12:37 p.m. PT on Thursday.
Bryan Woo will get the start in the series finale.
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