Without Julio Rodriguez, Mariners rally to beat A’s, set franchise record for wins in month
SEATTLE – They found a way to win this one without their star center fielder.
But not without some drama.
Teoscar Hernandez hit a three-run home run early, J.P. Crawford had a clutch two-run single late, and the Mariners closed out a six-game homestand with a 5-4 victory over the Oakland A’s on Wednesday afternoon for their 21st victory in August, a franchise record for the most wins in any month.
“There’s like 60 days in August, isn’t there?” manager Scott Servais cracked afterward. “I wish there were. What a month.”
The Mariners finished with a 21-6 record in August. They’ve won 13 of 15 to move into playoff position, and they’ll enter September in first place in the AL West for the first time since 2001.
“Twenty-one wins in a month – there was a really special team here (in ’01) that won 116 games, and they didn’t even do that,” Servais said.
The Mariners (76-57) are scheduled to fly out to New York on Wednesday night. After a day off in Manhattan on Thursday, they start a 10-day, 10-game road trip against the Mets on Friday night. (The Rangers and Astros are also idle on Thursday.)
“I’m excited; the whole clubhouse is excited; the city is excited,” M’s rookie Bryce Miller said. “Hopefully, we can keep it rolling. I know we have a lot of confidence in the clubhouse, so I don’t see us slowing down.”
For the second straight game, the Mariners played without center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who remained sidelined because of a sore left foot.
He was scheduled to have an MRI earlier in the day, and Servais said after the game that swelling in Rodriguez’s foot has subsided some.
“We’ve missed Julio,” Servais said. “Hopefully, he’ll be back in New York. He felt a little bit better later in the day today. (There’s) day off tomorrow, and hopefully he can get back in the lineup when we get over to play the Mets.”
Playing without Rodriguez on Tuesday night, the Mariners’ offense couldn’t muster much in a 3-1 loss to an Oakland team that, at 39-95, is among the worst in MLB history.
The Mariners had a sleepy start again Wednesday afternoon.
Trailing 3-0 early, the Mariners finally got to Oakland’s 34-year-old junk-ball veteran, Zach Neal, in the third inning.
Eugenio Saurez drew a two-out walk, Cal Raleigh doubled and Hernandez followed with a line-drive homer out to left field, his 23rd homer of the season.
Much like Rodriguez – the favorite to win American League Player of the Month – Hernandez has had a torrid August. He finished the month with seven homers, nine doubles and 22 RBIs, and his 1.071 OPS is the highest OPS in any full calendar month of his career.
Trailing 4-3 late, Seattle’s Dominic Canzone led off the seventh with a double, and Mike Ford followed with a single.
After a Dylan Moore walk, Crawford delivered a bases-loaded, opposite-field single with one out, driving in Canzone and pinch runner Jose Caballero to give the M’s a 5-4 lead.
Those were the first runs Oakland left-handed reliever Kirby Snead had allowed in his past 10 appearances.
Miller had a quality start, allowing three runs – all in a shaky second – over six innings. Miller allowed just two base runners, on two singles, over his final four innings. He completed six innings on 94 pitches, allowing three runs on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
On top of his three-run homer, Hernandez saved a run for the Mariners in the top of the seventh inning with a perfect one-hop throw home, nailing Esteury Ruiz at the plate. (Initially called safe, Ruiz was out after a replay review.)
It was Hernandez’s 12th assist of the season, most among AL outfielders.
Matt Brash worked a scoreless eighth inning out of the Mariners bullpen, stranding the tying run at third base, and Andres Muñoz closed it out in the ninth for his 11th save.