Homer-happy Mariners hit four long balls in 10-8 win over A’s

SEATTLE – So the Mariners got back Nelson Cruz on Saturday night and an already surprisingly productive offense, given the absences of key contributors who have been relegated to the disabled list, got just a little bit better.

But as they’ve shown in the infant stages of the 2018 season and again Saturday night in a 10-8 win over the A’s, this version of the Mariners offense is more than capable of putting up hits and runs in bunches in a variety of ways and that no player is totally reliant to carry the production. It was the seventh time in 12 games the Mariners have scored five or more runs in a game.

But it wasn’t all gumdrops, rainbows and elaborate post-homer handshakes on the night. Seattle’s pitching was less than stellar at times, starting with starter Marco Gonzales and followed by three key setup men serving up homers. The game was much closer than it should have been.

And pitch location and execution were not ideal and won’t work against opponents such as the Houston Astros, who arrive in Seattle on Monday.

Still, coming into the season, the Mariners knew that their success would largely hinge on the versatility and production of their offense. And it’s the main reason they are off to an 8-4 start.

Here’s how they amassed their runs, some in typical fashion, others not so much:

• A three-run homer from Jean Segura in the second inning on a pitch at his ankles.
• A blistering two-run single from the nuclear-hot bat of Mitch Haniger in the third.
• Haniger’s fourth homer of the season – a solo blast to right field – in the fifth.
• The speed of Daniel Vogelbach leading to another run in the fifth.
• An RBI single that traveled 11 feet off the bat of Dee Gordon to cap the three-run fifth.
• Kyle Seager’s third homer of the season in the sixth, a deep smash to right-center.
• Vogelbach displayed his absurd power with a solo homer over the Hit it Here Cafe. The mammoth blast had a 112 mph exit velocity and traveled 433 feet, per MLB statcast.

So some of things were normal. While Segura isn’t a big power hitter, he has that capability. He golfed a low sinker from erratic A’s starter Kendall Graveman over the wall in left to give Seattle an early 3-0 lead.

Haniger, who said after his big game Friday that he didn’t care where he hit in the order, continued to produce. His two-run single came just after the Mariners had watched the A’s erase the 3-0 lead provided by Segura.

Haniger’s solo homer with one out in the fifth was an example of his untapped potential. He stayed on a 90 mph fastball away from lefty Daniel Coulombe and drove it to right, something many veteran hitters can’t do.

But the speed of Vogelbach? Well, he followed up Haniger’s homer with a double to right, hustled to third on Ichiro’s infield single to shortstop and then lumbered home when Marcus Semien’s throw to third went astray.

Gonzales cruised through the first two innings with ease. But given a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second, his outing started to unravel in the top of third under some odd circumstances.

With two outs and Jonathan Lucroy on first base, Semien ripped a ball into the left-field corner. A’s coach Matt Williams was aggressive in sending Lucroy home on the play. The Mariners seemed to have him out at home when Segura’s relay throw beat him easily. But the ball skipped past the glove of catcher David Freitas as Lucroy slid into his legs. Semien, who advanced to third on the throw to the plate, saw the ball bounce away from Freitas and tried to hustle home. But Freitas flipped the ball to Gonzales, who was covering at home, and they tagged Semien out. One run had scored, the inning was over and the damage was done.

Or was it?

The M’s asked for a replay review of the play, which showed that Semien’s double bounced off the warning track and over the wall, striking the wall behind it and caroming back onto the field. So the run was erased, Lucroy went back to third and Semien to second.

But Mark Canha singled to left-center to score both runners to cut the lead to 3-2 and Jed Lowrie singled to score Canha to tie the game.

Notes

Lost in the home runs, Gordon extended his hitting streak to 12 games. It’s the third-longest hitting streak to begin a season in club history. Dating back to last season, Gordon has a hit in 18 straight games. … Catcher Mike Zunino is likely headed for a brief rehab assignment early next week. Zunino (oblique strain) is expected to catch a couple of games in the minors – either with Double-A Arkansas or Single-A Modesto – early next week before rejoining the Mariners.