M’s absorb 99th loss

SEATTLE – Deep into their inglorious march toward 100 losses, the Seattle Mariners on Friday were like the band in a parade behind an equestrian unit.

They knew if the next step didn’t get them, the one after that probably would.

The Mariners couldn’t sidestep Daric Barton, whose two home runs and six RBIs led the Oakland A’s to a 9-0 victory at Safeco Field, or A’s starter Trevor Cahill and his seven innings of shutout pitching.

The loss was the M’s 99th and put them on the brink of something that seemed outlandish when they began the season. They must sweep the final two games to avoid 100 losses.

To do that, they must beat A’s left-hander Brett Anderson (2.91 earned-run average) tonight and left-hander Dallas Braden (3.50) on Sunday. That’s after the A’s outscored them 17-1 in the first two games of the series.

“It’s a couple of bad games, but it’s been a couple of bad games all year long,” shortstop Josh Wilson said. “Every guy in this room is going to be a stronger person mentally because of this year. It’s a test of will and confidence.”

That definitely described Mariners starter Luke French, who fell behind 7-0 before he’d recorded his fifth out. Barton hit a solo homer with one out in the first, then a grand slam with one out in the second, when the A’s scored six runs.

French finished his season 5-7 with a 4.83 ERA and tried to look past his nightmare final start and more at what he accomplished this season. He went 11-3, 2.94 at Triple-A Tacoma and pitched six innings or more in eight of his 13 starts with the Mariners. Combined, he pitched 205 innings.

“I’ve thrown the most innings I’ve ever thrown,” he said. “I learned a lot.”

Barton taught him that big-league hitters feast on pitches that miss their location. Barton hit a slider for his first-inning home run and a two-strike fastball for his grand slam on a pitch French tried to push inside to the A’s left-hander.

The Mariners were shut out for the 15th time this season, most in the A.L.

A’s 9, Mariners 0

Oakland	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
R.Davis cf	3	2	2	1	2	0	.283
Barton 1b	4	2	3	6	0	1	.275
Larish 1b	1	0	0	0	0	0	.185
M.Ellis 2b	5	0	1	1	0	0	.289
Cust dh	4	0	0	0	1	2	.273
K.Suzuki c	5	1	1	0	0	1	.242
Kouzmanoff 3b	4	0	0	0	0	0	.248
Carter lf	2	1	0	0	2	0	.156
Hermida rf	4	1	1	0	0	2	.215
Pennington ss	4	2	2	1	0	0	.253
Totals	36	9	10	9	5	6

Seattle	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
I.Suzuki rf	3	0	1	0	1	0	.315
Halman pr-rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	.048
Figgins 2b	4	0	0	0	0	1	.261
F.Gutierrez dh	3	0	0	0	1	2	.246
Smoak 1b	3	0	1	0	1	2	.214
Langerhans lf	3	0	1	0	1	2	.196
J.Bard c	4	0	0	0	0	1	.213
M.Saunders cf	4	0	1	0	0	0	.206
Mangini 3b	3	0	1	0	0	0	.200
Jo.Wilson ss	3	0	1	0	0	0	.229
Totals	30	0	6	0	4	8

Oakland	160	101	000—9	10	0
Seattle	000	000	000—0	6	0

LOB—Oakland 5, Seattle 7. 2B—Barton (33). HR—Barton 2 (10), off French 2. RBIs—R.Davis (52), Barton 6 (57), M.Ellis (46), Pennington (46). RLSIP—Oakland 3 (Cust, M.Ellis, Larish); Seattle 3 (Figgins, M.Saunders 2). GIDP—K.Suzuki, J.Bard, Jo.Wilson. DP—Oakland 2 (Kouzmanoff, M.Ellis, Barton), (M.Ellis, Pennington, Larish); Seattle 1 (Mangini, Figgins, Smoak).

Oakland	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Cahill W, 18-8	7	5	0	0	2	6	2.97
H.Rodriguez	1	1	0	0	0	1	4.50
Ro.Wolf	1	0	0	0	2	1	4.26

Seattle	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
French L, 5-7	4	8	8	8	2	3	4.83
Seddon	3	1	1	1	2	1	5.64
Olson	1	1	0	0	1	1	4.46
B.Sweeney	1	0	0	0	0	1	3.16

WP—Olson. T—2:22. A—19,656 (47,878).