A’s bats go cold against struggling Seattle Mariners – The Reporter

The Seattle Mariners came to the Coliseum with a six game loss, but the Oakland A’s failed to capitalize. The Mariners just took advantage of a few mistakes to score a win.

The A’s couldn’t cause much trouble against starter Yusei Kikuchi in a 2: 4 defeat on Monday evening. The left-handed starter kept the A’s to four hits, including a Mark Canha across the field home run, and managed to keep the A’s off the barrel all night.

“We had some good games, some bad games against him,” said Melvin. “Today was a really good cutter early and used his four-seater and slider better than he went to give us a different look during the middle innings of the game. It seems like his cutter is the pitch that made him effective. ”
OAKLAND, CA – MAY 24: Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi # 18 throws against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. On Monday, May 24, 2021. (Jane Tyska / Bay Area News Group)

Kikuchi threw his cutter 30 times, producing three puffs and much weak contact.

Kikuchi left the seventh inning with coaches after a hit by Jed Lowrie in the infield and passed the ball to reliever Rafael Montero. After a Tony Kemp lead-off run in the eighth game, Seth Brown was inches from homering for a fourth game in a row – he opted for an RBI double to cut the Mariners’ lead in half. Brown is 3 against 9 with two RBI as pinch hitters this year.

With the first draw, Mariners manager Scott Servais brought in reliever Erik Swanson, who defeated Chad Pinder, Ramón Laureano and Matt Olson to wipe out the A’s late rally.

Frankie Monta’s mistakes bite back: Although A’s starter Frankie Montas was sharp with his sinker, four-seater, slider and splitter, a stagnant Mariners offense jumped on a few fault areas. In a night with two hits, Archbishop Mitty alum Mitch Haniger tied an RBI double in the first inning to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.

With Haniger on the base, the reigning AL rookie of the year Kyle Lewis smashed a fastball with two hits directly over the plate for a two-part home run and Mariners 3-0 lead. The 21-year-old phenomenon of the Mariners and top prospects Jarred Kelenic hit a fastball mistake a few meters from the second deck in the right field for a solo home run to make it 4-1.

“Really good breakup tonight,” said manager Bob Melvin. “Sometimes you make mistakes and get away with them, sometimes you don’t. I think the place for Haniger could have been a decent place. The two that bit him were the fastballs who were the homers. ”

Despite these costly mistakes, Montas was sharp. He knocked out 11 batters, a season high, in six innings. It was the fourth time in his career that Monta’s had double-digit strikes and the second most common after the 13 he rallied in the 2020 regular season finale against the Mariners.

Montas has found success with a strong four-seam and sinker belief – apart from the mistakes, Montas’ fastball was strong and hit the corners with some borderline calls that didn’t go his way. But Montas’ splinter produced six of its strikers.

“I have the feeling that the splinter was good today. I threw a lot of splinters today,” said Montas. “My slider was good too, my secondary pitches were good today.”
OAKLAND, CA – MAY 24: Jarred Kelenic # 10 of Seattle Mariners is congratulated by his teammates after doing a solo home run of Oakland Athletics with pitcher Frankie Montas # in the fifth inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, California. 47 have started. on Monday, May 24, 2021. (Jane Tyska / Bay Area News Group)

Cam Bedrosian A’s debut: Bedrosian – selected on May 21 with Mike Fiers at the 60-day IL – tossed two scoreless innings on his A debut, knocking one out and one without allowing a hit.

“You’re always looking for a good first outing with your new team,” said Melvin. “Not just for an inning, but also for two. Bullpen wise we can use some two-inning trips. Stopped us there for a while and kept us screaming away. ”

Deolis Guerra also threw a goalless ninth place to keep the A’s within striking distance. But they couldn’t overcome the two-run deficit.

“Guerra kept us in there too,” said Melvin. “We just couldn’t go offensive enough tonight.”
OAKLAND, CA – MAY 24: Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Cam Bedrosian # 60 throws against the Seattle Mariners in the seventh inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. On Monday, May 24, 2021. (Jane Tyska / Bay Area News Group)OAKLAND, CA – MAY 24: Tony Kemp # 5 of Oakland Athletics is safe at home after Seth Brown # 15 an RBI double against relief pitcher Rafael Montero # 47 of Seattle Mariners in the eighth inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland has achieved. California, on Monday, May 24, 2021. (Jane Tyska / Bay Area News Group)OAKLAND, CA – MAY 24: Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Keynan Middleton # 99 and catcher Jose Godoy # 78 celebrate their 4-2 MLB win over the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. On Monday, May 24, 2021. (Jane Tyska / Bay Area News Group)