M’s offence no match for emerging ace Manaea
SEATTLE — Sean Manaea pitched seven strong innings and Jed Lowrie hit an early two-run homer off Felix Hernandez Sunday to lead the Oakland Athletics over the Seattle Mariners 2-1.
Oakland avoided a series sweep as Manaea (2-2) gave up just two hits and struck out four. It was the third time in four starts this season he has lasted at least seven innings.
Lowrie provided all the offence the A’s needed with his fourth homer in the first inning. Blake Treinen finished with a four-out save.
Taylor Motter homered for the Mariners, who had won four in a row.
Manaea has been solid in every outing this season, allowing two runs or fewer each time. He held Seattle scoreless until Motter’s fifth-inning homer.
The only other time a Mariners runner advanced past first base against Manaea was in the first, when Robinson Cano walked with two outs and moved to third on a wild pitch and a passed ball. Manaea got Nelson Cruz to fly out, stranding Cano, and Seattle’s offence was largely shut down the rest of the day.
Hernandez (2-2) also was effective, but he couldn’t match Manaea.
The longtime ace worked into the seventh inning for the first time this year, giving up five hits in 6.1 innings. He retired 13 in a row after Lowrie’s homer and struck out seven without issuing a walk.
In the first inning, Marcus Semien singled and then appeared to get picked off first base before a balk was called on Hernandez. After the umpires huddled, the balk was called off and Semien returned to first. Lowrie followed with his homer to right field, giving Oakland a 2-0 lead.
Oakland loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but was unable to score an insurance run. Chasen Bradford struck out Matt Olsen and got Matt Chapman to line out to left field, escaping the jam.
At Boston, Andrew Benintendi got three hits and the Boston Red Sox extended the best start in their 118-year history, beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 Sunday at frigid Fenway Park.
Mitch Moreland also had three hits for the Red Sox, who completed a three-game sweep of the shortened series and improved to a major leaguebest 13-2 under new manager Alex Cora.
The series was supposed to last four games, but the traditional Patriots’ Day game scheduled for Monday morning at 11:05 a.m. was postponed late Sunday afternoon because of a forecast that calls for heavy rain throughout the day. The game will be made up May 17. It is the first time the Patriots’ Day game in Boston has been postponed since 1984.
Manny Machado had an RBI double for Baltimore, which has lost five of six.