Seattle reach the part of the schedule they needed
The Mariners open a four-game series with the Athletics tonight at 66-74, five games behind Houston in the American League West and four and a half behind Cleveland for the last wild card. The record says one thing. The remaining schedule says another.
Seattle have 22 games left. Nineteen of them come against AL West opposition. Twenty come against teams currently under .500, the exception being two home dates with the Astros, who sit at 71-69. Seventeen of those 22 are against the Athletics (54-86), the Los Angeles Angels (53-87) and Colorado (54-86), the three worst records in the major leagues.
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Two wins in Boston changed the mood
Seattle lost four in a row before salvaging their trip to Toronto and Boston. They took Tuesday 9-6, with Lazaro Montes homering in his major-league debut, then closed it out 8-3 on Wednesday. That followed a Monday night in which they surrendered a late three-run lead and lost 9-8 in extra innings.
“Everyone knows what’s at stake right now. We gotta go,” shortstop J.P. Crawford said after going 3-for-3 and scoring twice on Wednesday. “Hopefully this series gets the boys going.”
Manager Dan Wilson framed it the same way. “I think we all feel urgency right now. Our guys got a good taste of it here in this series, and that’s what we’re going to expect as we go back. We have to. We’re in this situation, and urgency is of the essence.”
The A’s arrive with a rookie swinging
Oakland snapped a five-game slide on Wednesday, beating Texas 9-2 behind Henry Bolte, who went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs. Zack Gelof, Jonah Heim and Alika Williams also went deep.
“This kid has done a great job for us since he’s been called up,” manager Mark Kotsay said of Bolte, a second-round pick in 2022. “He’s continuing to get better and make improvements.”
Right-hander Jack Perkins (3-10, 6.42 ERA) starts for the A’s against Mariners left-hander Kade Anderson (0-0, 4.50), who makes his third career start and his first against Oakland. Anderson left Saturday’s game at Toronto with a 3-0 lead after 4 1/3 innings; the bullpen let two inherited runners score and Seattle lost 4-3. Nights like that are what the next three weeks will punish.
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