Oakland slide continues in loss against Seattle

Club has dropped four straight games, playoffs now in peril

OAKLAND >> It’s no time to panic with 35 games to play, but it’s OK to be concerned given the Athletics are closer to third place than they are to first place

in the American League West.

A 5-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners before 4,508 socially distanced fans at the Coliseum Tuesday gave Seattle a two-game sweep of the series. It was the A’s fourth straight loss and eighth of the last 10 games as they fell to 70-57.

Seattle (69-58) moved within a game of the Athletics in the division, with Houston holding a 3 ½ game lead on Oakland before its Tuesday night game.

“We’re putting too much pressure on every facet of the game that we have right now,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said in a postgame video conference. “There’s not a lot of room for error. It was a tough stretch we went through. We did not look good today. We’ve lost some close games. This is the wrong time to go into a slump, wrong time to go into a team slump. We have to flip the switch and play like we do. We’ll figure it out.”

After a much-needed day off Wednesday, the Athletics can reassert their claim for a spot in

the postseason as the New York Yankees — who began play as the wild-card leader — coming to the Coliseum for a four-game series.

“We’re not playing our best baseball right now and we know that,” shortstop Elvis Andrus said. “Everybody wants to be the hero and be that player that gets the team back on track. We’ve still got 30-plus games. We are in the hunt. I think we need to relax. I think the day off is the right time for us to reset and get back for the Yankees series.

It’s really a key series for us as a team.”

Chris Flexen of Newark Memorial High gave up a run in the first and then breezed into the seventh inning before giving up a twoout double to Andrus and walking Mark Canha — his first walk of the game. The Mariners pulled Flexen in favor of Drew Steckenrider, who needed all of one pitch to get Starling Marte on a pop up to right field to end the inning.

Flexen improved to 11-5 after throwing 105 pitches, 66 for strikes, with Steckenrider pitching the last 2 2/3 innings for his sixth save.

On a day when the A’s bullpen was taxed and they needed a quality start, starter Cole Irvin (9-12) lasted just three innings. He gave up seven hits and three runs and was fortunate it wasn’t worse. Just as concerning is that Irvin felt something give in his hip in the third inning.

“I landed awkwardly and felt something pull in my upper hip toward my behind,” Irvin said. “Got some treatment. Feeling all right, hopefully the off day and a couple of extra days will help. I’ve had something like this before but not to the extent of what I felt. Hopefully, I’ll be good for my next start.”

Irvin, who has struggled against Seattle, felt he may have been tipping his pitches with runners at second relaying to the batter what was next.

“They’re finding something that works for them, I’m just trying to find out what that is,” Irvin said. “If I’m not tipping and they’re having good approaches, then I’m not doing enough to keep them off-balance.”

Leading 3-1, the Mariners added two insurance runs against A.J. Puk when Jarred Kelenic doubled home one run and Dylan Moore singled in another, a rally that began with two out and no one on.

In the second inning, Luis Torrens hit a one-out double to left center, and after a solid single to left by

Tom Murphy, Kelenic singled home Torrens as Seattle tied the score 1-1.

Irvin was set up nicely in the third after walking Mitch Haniger, as Ty France bounced into a double play.

However, Kyle Seager singled, Abraham Toro doubled to right and Torrens hit a two-run single to make it 3-1. Irvin walked Murphy, but retired Kelenic on a ground ball.

When Seattle came up in the fourth, Deolis Guerra had replaced Irvin. Guerra threw three scoreless innings to keep the A’s in the game.

The A’s got a quick run off Flexen in the first when Mitch Moreland bounced a

grounder through the vacated shortstop spot against the shift to bring home Marte, who had singled to right. But Flexen retired Josh Harrison on a fly out and struck out Matt Chapman stopping the damage at a single run.

That would be it for the Athletics, and Melvin felt the offensive execution left a lot to be desired.

“We did not have competitive at-bats after that,” Melvin said. “(Flexen) pitched well. At times effectively wild; he’s up, he’s down. But our late-game at-bats are not there right now and that’s kind of our calling card. It was not a good game.”