A's beat Mariners 7-4 as bullpen closes it out
The Athletics beat Seattle 7-4 as Kade Anderson struggled early, dropping the Mariners to 66-75 while Victor Robles went on bereavement leave and Brennen Davis landed on the 60-day IL.
Kade Anderson's early trouble costs Seattle
The Mariners lost 7-4 to the Athletics on September 3 at T-Mobile Park, dropping to 66-75 and to 2-3 in their last five games. Kade Anderson worked 5.0 innings and allowed 4 earned runs on 7 hits with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts, and Martin Gallegos wrote that Oakland's offense got to the rookie early while the bullpen followed with 6 scoreless innings in relief of Jack Perkins.
Athletics4-7It was Seattle's third loss in its last five games, coming right after an 8-3, series-clinching win over Boston on September 2 and an 8-9 loss to the Red Sox the day before that. The stretch has left the Mariners 4.5 games back in the AL Wild Card, with an elimination number of 16.
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The Mariners' outfield took another hit this week. Victor Robles was placed on the family medical emergency list on September 3, the team announced. That same day, Brennen Davis was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma and immediately placed on the 60-day injured list with a hamstring injury.
Third baseman Brendan Donovan is also still without a timetable. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported this week that Donovan has not yet been cleared to return from his concussion, leaving Seattle short another regular as it tries to hang on in the wild-card race.
Upcoming
Logan Gilbert takes the mound for Seattle tonight as the Mariners host the Athletics, the opener of a 3-game series. Gilbert is 11-8 with a 3.42 ERA, though he lasted just 5.0 innings and took the loss in his last start against Toronto on August 30, allowing 3 earned runs on 6 hits. Oakland counters with Kade Morris, who is 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA and was rocked for 9 earned runs over 4.0 innings in his last start against Houston on June 6.
Seattle is favored at home, and the total points to a low-scoring game between two clubs still jockeying for playoff position. That lines up with the pitching matchup: Gilbert gives the Mariners a clear edge over Morris, whose last outing was one of the worst on Oakland's staff this season, and Seattle will need to cash in on that advantage to close ground in the wild card with the calendar turning to September.