Mariners Hold Off Athletics Comeback, Even Series

The Fernando Rodney Express pulled into Oakland Tuesday night and almost let the Athletics come all the way back. With two outs in the 9th and down by three runs, Rodney gave up three consecutive doubles, scoring two runs, before finally recording the last out and claiming the 6-5 win for Seattle, and his 40th save of the season.

James Paxton, who was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the day, pitched seven shutout innings before running into some trouble in the 8th.

Paxton had two outs and a runner on third in the 8th, but he walked Josh Reddick – Paxton’s second walk of the inning – and Lloyd McClendon went to the bullpen. Yoervis Medina came in and gave up an RBI single to Adam Dunn and a 2RBI double by Craig Gentry to put the A’s on the board, but still trailing 6-3.

The Mariners staked Paxton to an early 6-0 lead by taking advantage of Sonny Gray‘s continued struggles.

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The M’s struck for two runs in the 3rd, two in the 4th and two more in the 5th, capped by Kyle Seager‘s 2-run homer, his 21st of the season.

In the 9th, Rodney came in seeking his 40th save of the season. After striking out Josh Donaldson and Stephen Vogt to start the inning, Rodney gave up doubles by Derek Norris, Brandon Moss and Sam Fuld to cut the M’s lead to 6-5.

Rodney finally shut the door and shot the arrow after getting Reddick to ground out to short.

For Rodney, it is only the 2nd time in his career that he has had 40+ saves in a season (48 in 2012).

The Mariners even the series with the AL Wild-Card leading Athletics. They look to take the series and move to within 3.5 games of the A’s when they take the field Wednesday morning.

BOX SCORE

Batting

Seattle

Batting

2B – L Morrison (13, S Gray); E Chavez (12, S Gray)

HR – K Seager (21, 5th inning off S Gray 1 on, 2 Out)

S – J Jones, J Sucre

RBI – A Jackson 2 (42), K Seager 2 (84), E Chavez 2 (22)

2-out RBI – K Seager 2

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – R Cano 1, J Sucre 1

GIDP – R Cano

Team LOB – 2

Running

SB – A Jackson (15, 2nd base off S Gray/G Soto)

CS – S Romero (4, 3rd base by R Cook/G Soto)

Fielding

DP – 3 (R Cano-B Miller-L Morrison, B Miller-R Cano-L Morrison, K Seager-R Cano-L Morrison)

Oakland

Batting

2B – C Gentry (6, Y Medina); D Norris (19, F Rodney); B Moss (21, F Rodney); S Fuld (14, F Rodney)

RBI – C Gentry 2 (12), B Moss (77), S Fuld (27), A Dunn (57)

2-out RBI – C Gentry 2, B Moss, S Fuld, A Dunn

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – J Lowrie 1, J Reddick 1

GIDP – N Freiman, G Soto, J Reddick

Team LOB – 3

Running

CS – C Gentry (2, 2nd base by J Paxton/J Sucre)

Fielding

DP – 1 (N Freiman-J Lowrie)

Pitching

Seattle

Oakland

WP – J Paxton, Y Medina

Pitches-strikes – J Paxton 92-53; Y Medina 13-10; F Rodney 19-15; S Gray 80-52; D Pomeranz 31-23; R Cook 10-8

Ground balls-fly balls – J Paxton 14-4; Y Medina 0-0; F Rodney 1-0; S Gray 11-2; D Pomeranz 4-1; R Cook 0-0

Batters faced – J Paxton 26; Y Medina 3; F Rodney 6; S Gray 23; D Pomeranz 10; R Cook 2

Game Details

Game Time: 2:42.

Umpires: HP–CB Bucknor. 1B–Dan Iassogna. 2B–Adam Hamari. 3B–Quinn Wolcott.

Weather: 60 degrees, Overcast.

Wind: 14 mph, Out to Right.

Attendance: 23,859.