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Seattle Mariners

Mariners Log: Bullpen woes continue as Athletics shock M’s with two homers in ninth

Oakland Athletics’ Matt Joyce, center, shares congratulations at home on his two-run home run with Rajai Davis during the ninth inning on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, in Seattle. (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)
By Dave Nichols daven@spokesman.com(509) 459-5441

BULLPEN EXPLODES IN NINTH TO TURN WIN INTO LOSS

What happened: Matt Joyce and Mark Canha hit home runs in the top of the ninth and the Oakland Athletics shocked the Seattle Mariners 9-5 on Tuesday at Safeco Field.

Joyce, a left-handed batter, hit his homer off righty Steve Cishek, while Canha, a right-handed hitter, knocked his out off lefty Marc Rzepczynski. The A’s scored five run in all in the ninth.

It was announced earlier in the day that Edwin Diaz would be removed from ninth inning duties for the foreseeable future to work on his mechanics.

All this came after Kyle Seager gave the Mariners a 5-4 lead in the eighth on a solo home run, his fourth of the season.

Starter Chase De Jong gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks over six innings. His ERA after six games and four starts is 7.40.

Line Outs

  • M’s got out of the box nicely, as Nelson Cruz launched a first-pitch fastball to the stands in center for his 10th home run of the season in the bottom of the first.
  • The A’s answered with two in the second, when Ryon Healy absolutely crushed an 88 mph fastball to left-center for a two-run shot (7).
  • Oakland picked up two more in the fourth. Mark Canha led off with a double and Stephen Vogt doubled him home. Adam Rosales sacrificed Vogt to third and Vogt scored on Josh Phegley’s single to center.
  • The M’s rallied in the seventh. With one out, Taylor Motter singled to left and he moved up on a wild pitch. Guillermo Heredia singled and Motter moved up to third. Daniel Coulombe was summoned from the pen and he immediately hit Jarrod Dyson to load the bases.
  • Catcher Carlos Ruiz hit a tailor-made double-play grounder to third that went right through the wickets of Healy and two runs scored. Jean Segura followed with a grounder to second for a double play, but after review he was rules safe at first and another run scored. Unfortunately, he was then picked off to end the inning.
  • 3B Kyle Seager broke the tie in the eighth with a solo shot, his fourth of the campaign.
  • On the day Edwin Diaz was removed from the closer’s role, Steve Cishek was give the chance – and failed. He gave up a single to Rajai Davis and threw over a half-dozen times before serving Matt Joyce an absolute meatball. Joyce crushed it to right for a two-run homer.
  • Reliever Marc Rzepczynski, who hadn’t allowed a run all year, was brought in and after a strikeout issued an intentional walk. The strategy backfired, as Mark Canha drove one off the top of the wall and over in dead center for a three-run shot, ending the competitive portion of the festivities.

The Takeaway

The bullpen woes continued. But it must be noted righty Steve Cishek was allowed to face and gave up a home run to a left-handed batter. Then lefty Marc Rzepczynski, who hadn’t allowed a run all year, was allowed to face a right-handed hitter, and the homer by Canha ensued. The pitchers failed, but they weren’t put in the best situations to succeed, either.

Tweet of the Day

Players of the Game

Hero: Nelson Cruz. 2 for 3, walk, homer. He’s hitting .326.

Goat: Manager Scott Servais. He’s going to have to pick and choose his spots with the bullpen without a permanent closer right now and the defendable decision would have been to have a lefty face Joyce, or force the A’s to go to a pinch-hitter. Instead, he managed to the save stat, allowing Cishek to face the lefty. It backfired.

Mariners Notes

Ryan Weber, who was injured on Saturday in his Mariners debut, was diagnosed with a stretch of the musculocutaneous nerve and there is no timetable on his return. Weber was the ninth starting pitcher the Mariners have used this season.

Next Game

Oakland Athletics (17-22) vs. Seattle Mariners (18-21) on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. at Safeco Field. RHP Jesse Hahn (1-2, 2.74) vs RHP Christian Berman (0-1, 4-15).

What others are saying (and writing)

The news before the game about Cano’s disabled list stint wasn’t all that unexpected seeing how his leg injury has lingered. … The Diaz news was a bit more unexpected. And a bit more important, considering how the ninth inning turned out. … The Times’ Larry Stone has his thoughts on the M’s problems. … The A’s can count on one thing: being able to hit home runs. Their bullpen is also another story.