Seattle puts up 5 runs in 2-out rally
SEATTLE — The A’s bullpen was thought to be a team strength this year, but the unit has allowed runs in eight consecutive games and struggled to get a key third out Friday night at Safeco Field.
Coming off their most dynamic win of the season, a 16-6 shellacking of the Dodgers on Wednesday, the A’s wasted a two-homer night by Khris Davis and Matt Chapman’s fifth home run of the year when the bullpen wilted Friday night. The Mariners scored five runs in the seventh, all with two outs, and came away with a 7-4 victo-
ry over Oakland.
With the A’s up by a run in that inning, Jean Segura reached on an infield single off Yusmeiro Petit, then Danny Coulombe took over and walked Robinson Cano. Chris Hatcher, who hadn’t allowed a hit to the first hitter he’d faced this season, replaced Coulombe and gave up a homer to Mitch Haniger that pushed Seattle ahead.
“Every cutter I threw him kind of backed up on me,” said Hatcher, who was trying to go down and away. “I’ve just got to be more aggressive, make better pitches. That’s his nitro zone and he hit it pretty good.”
Kyle Seager followed with a base hit to left, and Daniel Vogelbach, batting .192, banged his first homer of the season.
“We felt good with the guys we brought in the game,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Just couldn’t close it out.”
Hatcher entered the season as the primary right-handed set-up man, but his ERA through six appearances is 13.50.
The A’s are 5-9 and have yet to win a series this season; there are two games left in the threegame set at Seattle.
Chapman has been the one constant positive for Oakland. In his first full season, the A’s third baseman has five homers, including Friday’s solo shot in the sixth. Oakland’s other homers came from Davis, who is heating up on this trip. He banged a two-run shot off Mike Leake with two outs in the first, Davis’ sixth hit in 11 at-bats, and he added a solo homer in the eighth.
Oakland starter Andrew Triggs went five innings and allowed five hits, two walks and two runs with four strikeouts. He made an admirable turnaround after a stumble in the first in which Triggs gave up four consecutive hits and two runs, one on a base hit by Haniger and another on a double by Seager. Triggs allowed only one more hit the rest of the way.
“I need to be a little more aggressive because five innings doesn’t cut it,” Triggs said.
With Boog Powell out with a knee sprain, Jake Smolinski has received the bulk of time in center field. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and he hit into a double play; he’s hitless in his past 12 at-bats and is batting .053.
“He hasn’t put up the offensive numbers he probably expected to coming out of the spring to this point, but we’ve always liked him and we want to give him a nice opportunity to get significant at-bats, because he’s got some power, he can do some good things,” Melvin said. “My feeling is he’ll warm up here with the consistent at-bats, we just haven’t seen it yet.”