Coco Crisp’s leadoff homer off Hector Noesi leading off the 12th inning gave the Athletics a 3-2 victory over the Mariners Thursday night in Oakand and halted Seattle’s season-opening winning streak at three. Crisp, who scored the tying run in the eighth on a Yoenis Cespedes triple, drilled an 0-and-1 pitch just above the scoreboard in right field.
The Mariners were coming off a three-game sweep of the Angels in Anaheim and trying to open a season 4-0 for the first time since 1985.
“We played well and pitched well,” said catcher Mike Zunino of the four-hour, two-minute game. “We did everything. We don’t want to lose that way but we did some great things.”
The Mariners, who suffered 13 walk-off losses in 2013, took a 1-0 lead in the first inning without the benefit of a hit when Abraham Almonte scored on an infield grounder by Robinson Cano. Almonte added an RBI single in the fifth. That put rookie starter Roenis Elias in position to become the first Cuban-born pitcher to win a game for Seattle — until the bullpen gave up the lead.
Elias, who had trouble with his command in the first two innings when he went to a full count on seven hitters, settled down and allowed one run and two hits in five innings.
After scoring 26 runs in three games against the Angels, the Mariners managed just six hits Thursday. Almonte had the only multi-hit game while the heart of Seattle’s order, Cano (1-for-5), Justin Smoak (0-for-4) and Corey Hart (0-for-5), combined to go 1-for-14. The Mariners also went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
The four-game series resumes at 7 p.m. Friday with RHP Dan Straily for Oakland against Seattle RHP Chris Young, who last pitched in the big leagues Sept. 29, 2012.
1 Comment
Despite losing they were able to compete with the defending division champ with a AA pitcher starting. And they took the A’s into extra innings. Liking how the rotation has performed so far, and on the road no less. The bats finally cooled down but we can see why Almonte is the leadoff hitter.