Seattle Mariners vs Oakland Athletics Match Player Stats On Aug 09, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Aug 9, 2017

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Nelson Cruz hit his 25th and 26th home runs of the season, and Kyle Seager launched a three-run blast, powering the Seattle Mariners to a 6-3 victory against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum.

Cruz hit a two-run shot in the third inning and a solo blast in the fifth for his second multi-homer game of the season and 23rd of his career.

Cruz drove in three runs, giving him 22 RBIs in 13 games against the A's in 2017, the most by a Mariners' player versus Oakland in a single season. He has seven home runs against the A's this year and 29 for his career, his second highest total against any team. Cruz has a career-high 98 RBIs against the A's and Angels.

The Mariners won for the fourth time in their past five contests and finished their nine-game road trip with a 6-3 mark after sweeping a two-game series from Oakland. They entered the day in a three-way tie for the second wild-card spot in the American League with Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

Mariners right-hander Yovani Gallardo allowed three runs on six hits, including two home runs, over 4 1/3 innings to receive a no-decision. He struck out three, walked two and threw 94 pitches.

Emilio Pagan (1-2) blanked the A's on one hit over 2 1/3 innings for his first major league victory. Tony Zych pitched a perfect eighth inning and Edwin Diaz a scoreless ninth for his 25th save.

Khris Davis hit his 31st home run, a solo shot in the third, and Matt Joyce added his 15th, a leadoff homer in the first, for the A's.

A's right-hander Jharel Cotton (5-9) allowed six runs on eight hits, including three home runs, over six innings. He struck out four and walked one in his third straight rough start since coming off the disabled list after recovering from a blister on his right thumb.

The Mariners took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Seager's 17th home run of the season, a three-run shot into the right field seats off Cotton. Jean Segura and Robinson Cano were on base with singles, and Seager delivered with two outs.

Oakland answered with Joyce's leadoff homer in the bottom of the first. Joyce led off a game with a homer for the third time this season and for the seventh time of his career.

Seattle increased its lead to 5-1 in the top of the third when Cano lined a leadoff single and Cruz crushed Cotton's belt-high, 90 mph fastball for a 450-foot homer into the left field seats.

Davis cut Seattle's lead to 5-2 with his solo blast to right-center with two outs in the bottom of the inning.

Cruz made it 6-2 in the fifth with his second homer of the day off Cotton, a solo blast over the center field fence with one out.

Oakland responded with a run in the bottom of the third when Joyce lined a leadoff single and scored on Jed Lowrie's double. Before Lowrie brought Joyce home, left fielder Ben Gamel robbed Marcus Semien of a possible home run when he made a leaping catch and held on after slamming into the fence.

NOTES: A's RHP Bobby Wahl (strained right shoulder) will be examined by Dr. Gregory Pearl, a vascular surgeon, in Dallas on Friday. Wahl has been on the DL since May 24 and missed his 69th game Wednesday. ... A's C Josh Phegley (strained left oblique) will likely begin a rehab assignment in a week or so, A's manager Bob Melvin said. Phegley has been on the disabled list since July 25. ... Mariners LHP Ariel Miranda entered play Wednesday leading the major-leagues in a dubious statistical category -- home runs allowed. He has allowed 29 home runs, including two on Tuesday against Oakland. "It's not great," Mariners manager Scott Servais said Wednesday. "We got to try to address it. The home runs have certainly hurt. We need to get him back on track." ... Seattle 1B Yonder Alonso went 0-for-4 in his second game since being traded by Oakland to the Mariners.