Mariners Sweep the Athletics Led by the Middle and End of the Lineup!

The middle and end of the Mariners' lineup swept the Oakland Athletics in three games. What a way to end a long roadtrip!

The first two games were slow for both teams until the later innings. . The Mariners had three hits and two runs in the first game in the eighth inning.  In the second game, they had seven runs, but started scoring in the seventh inning, hit again in the ninth, and had five runs in the tenth inning. The third game’s runs were better distributed.

The games had some heroes. The first was Bryce Miller, the starting pitcher. He threw 81 pitches in six innings and had ten strikeouts. Fifty-seven of his pitches were fastballs. His fastballs are unique in that they rise several inches higher than many other fastballs. He earned a place in Mariners’ history because only two other pitchers in mlb history debuted with 10 strikeouts and no walks. Logan Gilbert on Wednesday and George Kirby pitched very well too as did the relief pitchers in all three games.

AJ Pollock, Jose Caballero, JP Crawford, Jarred Kelenic, Kolten Wong, Taylor Trammell, and Eugenio Suárez were key batters in this series. AJ Pollock was the spark that fired the Mariners up in the first two games. In the first game, he hit a home run in the top of the eighth inning. Then the combined efforts of Jose Caballero, JP Crawford, and Jarred Kelenic allowed Caballero to score and gave the Mariners the lead, 2-1, and the eventual win.

The Athletics picked up two runs in the sixth inning in the second game. AJ Pollock hit a double and Caballero singled in the top of the seventh and Pollock scored. Then Pollock hit a solo home run two innings later, making the score 2-2 at the end of the ninth inning. In the tenth inning, Caballero was the runner on 2nd base and Julio had walked so he was on first. Eugenio Suarez hit a home run, increasing the score to Mariners 5, Oakland, 2. Hernández hit a double, Cal walked, AJ Pollock walked, filling the bases. JP Crawford had a base hit allowing Hernández and Raleigh to score. The final score was 7-2, Mariners.

The third and final game differed from the first two in that the Mariners began scoring earlier starting in the third inning. In that inning, Taylor Trammell hit a home run that brought Crawford home. Oakland scored two runs in the bottom of the third and had one from the second. At the end of the third inning, the score was 3-2 in Oakland’s favor.  

In the fourth inning, after getting two outs, the Mariners loaded the bases when Teóscar Hernández doubled, and Raleigh, Crawford and Trammell walked. Raleigh scored when a fourth walk forced him home. When Kolten Wong singled, Hernández and Crawford scored. The game was 5-3 and was the final score, and the Mariners left Oakland with a sweep of the Athletics to get to 15-16.