Seven innings, two hits, one long wait
Jeffrey Springs opened this season 3-0. He then lost 13 decisions in a row. On Saturday night in Seattle he pitched seven scoreless innings and finally won again, his first since April 14, as the Athletics beat the Mariners 6-2.
The left-hander did not allow a hit until Cal Raleigh lined a one-out single to right in the fourth. Raleigh’s liner to centre leading off the seventh was the only other one he gave up. Two walks, six strikeouts, and a line that bore no relation to the 4-13 record he carries into the last three weeks of the season.
Seattle has been a comfortable opponent for him throughout his career. Springs is now 4-1 with a 2.04 ERA in 16 appearances against the Mariners, eight of them starts. His one defeat came on May 27 in West Sacramento, when he gave up five runs on six hits over five innings in a 9-1 loss.
Try it for $0.99.
The A’s built it early
Oakland scored in the second, third and fourth to make it 4-0 before Seattle had registered anything. Max Muncy started it with a solo shot off George Kirby to the back of the Mariners bullpen in left-centre, measured at 428 feet, his second home run in as many nights.
Alika Williams singled to lead off the third, moved up on a groundout and came home on Henry Bolte’s double. Zack Gelof singled and stole second in the fourth, Muncy drove him in, and Donovan Walton doubled Muncy home in the next at-bat. Lawrence Butler added a two-run shot off Michael Rucker in the eighth.
Kirby went 6 2/3 innings and gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits. Seattle finally scored in the eighth through singles from Randy Arozarena and Dominic Canzone, and Raleigh’s third hit of the night led to a run in the ninth.
Nineteen games, six back
The numbers around this one matter more than the game itself. Seattle sits 66-77, has lost three straight, and trails Houston by seven in the American League West with 19 games left. The third wild card is six away. That is a lot of ground for a team losing series to a 57-86 opponent.
Oakland has won four in a row and goes for the sweep of the four-game set on Sunday afternoon.
Discover the rest of our MLB news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply