Mariners Game Recap: Luis Sardinas Grand Salami not Enough as M’s Lose

Mar 17, 2016; Mesa, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners shortstop Luis Sardinas (R) talks to Oakland Athletics third base coach Ron Washington (38) during the third inning at HoHoKam Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2016; Mesa, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners shortstop Luis Sardinas (R) talks to Oakland Athletics third base coach Ron Washington (38) during the third inning at HoHoKam Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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12. 62. 13. 96. Final

Nate Karns struggles against the Oakland Athletics in a high scoring affair.  Luis Sardinas and Chris Iannetta have big offensive night.

The Seattle Mariners (10-12-2) lost a seesaw battle to the Oakland Athletics (9-10) 13-12 this evening at Peoria Stadium. Joel Peralta (0-1, 7.88) was tagged with the loss for Seattle, and Eric Surkamp (1-1, 5.54) earned the win for the Athletics.  Ryan Brasier (7.20) got his first save of the spring for the Athletics.

Nate Karns had a forgettable night in Peoria, Arizona Wednesday night as he gave up 9 runs, 7 earned runs, 8 hits, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts in 2.1 innings.  A breezy 10-20 mph wind blowing out to right field and 67 degrees may have contributed to his struggles as pitchers can tend to struggle gripping the ball in cooler temperatures.  Before he could get an out in the first inning he gave up 3 singles to Marcus Semien, Chris Coughlan, and Khris Davis to give the A’s a 2-0 lead.

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The Mariners offense made a game of it immediately in the bottom of the first against Jesse Hahn and the Oakland Athletics.  Nori Aoki doubled, Ketel Marte singled, and Chris Iannetta doubled to plate them both.  Then Seth Smith tripled to bring in Iannetta for the 3-2 lead.

Nate Karns had a better start in the second inning but sputtered after two outs.  He gave up two walks and then a single to Marcus Semien to score one.  Chris Coughlan then tripled to clear the bases for a 5-3 Oakland lead.

The Mariners would strike back in the bottom of the second with a Kyle Seager single to score Nori Aoki.  Chris Iannetta singled to score Marte and Seager.  Then Seth Smith singled to score Adam Lind and knock Jesse Hahn out of the ballgame and the Mariners led 7-5.

But the Mariners couldn’t hold the lead.  Ketel Marte started the third with a throwing error to allow Mark Canha to reach.  Billy Butler doubled off of Karns to score Canha.  Josh Phegley singled and Jake Smolinski homered to knock Nate Karns out of the game and give Oakland a 9-7 lead.

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Vidal Nuno replaced Karns and finished the third inning and other than a walk had an uneventful 4th inning.  Joaquin Benoit had a scoreless fifth inning as well.

Angel Castro took over for Jesse Hahn on the bump and did very well against the Mariners as did Liam Hendriks.  Eric Surkamp started the bottom of the fifth inning for the Athletics on the mound.  He gave up a single to Chris Iannetta, hit Seth Smith and walked Dae-ho Lee to load the bases.  Luis Sardinas then smashed a grand slam to give the Mariners an 11-9 lead.

Joel Peralta had all kinds of trouble pitching the sixth inning for the Mariners.  He gave up an RBI double to Chris Coughlan and then walked Bruce Maxwell with the bases loaded before being replaced with Casey Coleman.  Coleman then walked Jake Smolinski to score another run and Eric Sogard blooped a single to left field to score another run for a 13-11 Athletics lead.

Daniel Robertson plated Dae-ho Lee with a ground out to finish the scoring. Eric Surkamp would pitch four innings and earn the win and Ryan Brasier a 1-2-3 9th inning for the save.

The story today was the struggles of the pitchers in the cold and the high scoring between the two AL West rivals.  The Mariners and the Athletics have combined to score 47 runs in their two games this spring.  Nate Karns who has been a solid starter this spring really struggled against Oakland just as James Paxton did when he faced the same team.  The 5th starting pitcher position battle just got more interesting.  While Paxton (1-1) has a 9.00 ERA this spring in 11 innings this spring, Karns (1-1) now has a 6.75 ERA in 15.3 innings.  The big offensive night belonged to Chris Iannetta as he went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and Luis Sardinas went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI via a grand slam.

Next: Updating the M’s 5th Starting Pitcher Position Battle

The Seattle Mariners (10-12-2) will face the Colorado Rockies (10-8) at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm PT and the Mariners will have Taijuan Walker (0-2, 4.73)  on the bump opposing the Rockies Tyler Chatwood (1-0, 3.27). Tomorrow’s game will be televised on Root Sports and it can be streamed by MLB.tv subscribers.  The radio broadcast will be delayed on 710 ESPN.