A’s rally past M’s
SEATTLE – Bobby Kielty hit an RBI double in the 10th inning, Dan Johnson had a tying triple in the ninth and the A.L. West champion Oakland Athletics rallied past the Seattle Mariners 7-6 Wednesday night.
One day after the A’s clinched their first division title since 2003, left-hander Barry Zito had his scheduled start Wednesday pushed back to Thursday night against the Los Angeles Angels.
That sets him up to potentially start Game 1 of the playoffs on normal rest, although manager Ken Macha wouldn’t divulge his pitchers for the first two games.
Oakland won the season series with Seattle 17-2, the most wins the Athletics have ever had against one opponent in a year. They won 16 games against the Chicago White Sox in 1970.
After a wild celebration Tuesday night, the Athletics sent out a lineup Wednesday that hardly resembled their regular unit. Only Kielty, Nick Swisher and Marco Scutaro started both games.
Hiram Bocachica led off the 10th with a single against George Sherrill (2-4) and went to second on Scutaro’s sacrifice bunt. Kielty followed with a double over Ichiro Suzuki’s head in center to make it 7-6.
Jay Witasick (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth for the win and Huston Street got three outs for his 37th save in 47 chances.
With the A’s trailing by two in the ninth, Kielty and Swisher singled off J.J. Putz before Johnson’s two-run triple tied it at 6.
But after Adam Melhuse struck out and D’Angelo Jimenez was intentionally walked, Mariners shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt threw out Johnson at the plate on Jeremy Brown’s grounder. Antonio Perez then struck out to end the inning.
It was Putz’s seventh blown save in 41 opportunities.
Ichiro had two hits, an RBI and a run scored in his return to Seattle’s lineup after sitting out Tuesday night – snapping a streak of 396 consecutive games played. He was hit in the shoulder by a pickoff attempt Monday night.
Mariners starter Gil Meche allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. The right-hander walked five and struck out seven.
Jason Windsor made his first major league start in place of Zito, allowing five runs and seven hits in five innings.
Oakland had a 1-0 lead after Meche had thrown seven pitches. Scutaro’s double scored Bocachica in the first, and Swisher doubled home Scutaro.
Perez, the No. 9 hitter, tripled in the second to score Jimenez and put Oakland up 3-0.
Adrian Beltre’s sacrifice fly in the third scored Suzuki, who reached on his eighth triple of the season. It was Suzuki’s 49th career triple, breaking Harold Reynolds’ club mark.
Richie Sexson doubled home Raul Ibanez in the fourth to make it 3-2. Sexson, who advanced to third on Ben Broussard’s single, scored on Jose Lopez’s infield hit to tie it.
Betancourt’s RBI groundout scored Broussard to give Seattle a 4-3 lead. Suzuki’s single drove in Lopez for a 5-3 edge.
Melhuse’s RBI single off Joel Pineiro in the seventh scored Kielty to make it 5-4.
Betancourt added an RBI double in the eighth.