*Photo from Sportsnet*
Entering Wednesday night, the Seattle Mariners were looking to not only keep pace in the wild card race, but they were also aiming to eliminate their rivals, the Oakland Athletics, from contention in that same race. Abraham Toro homered, Jarred Kelenic drove in two, and the Mariners defeated the A's 4-2 on Wednesday night.
The win keeps the Mariners right in the thick of a very crowded AL wild card race. There are currently 4 teams within two games of each other, which are the Mariners, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. The Mariners currently sit a half game back of Boston for the second wild card spot, and a game and half back of the Yankees for the first one, trying to end their playoff drought.
Mariners shortstop JP Crawford wants to end that drought, saying that "You know the story of Seattle, they've haven’t been to the playoffs since 2001. You want to be that guy that breaks that curse or breaks the bad vibes over here. You want to be remembered, to be a legend in this city."
The game sat at a 0-0 stalemate through 5 innings. In the top of the 6th, Tony Kemp put the A's up 1-0 by cranking a solo home run to right field. In the bottom of the 6th, Kelenic laced a two run double into the right center field gap, plating two runs and giving the Mariners a 2-1 lead. In the 7th, Seth Brown tied it for the A's with a solo homer, but a sac fly from Ty France made it a 3-2 lead for the Mariners. In the 8th, Toro hit a solo home run to make it 4-2 Mariners.
Despite blowing his 6th save of the season in the 7th, Diego Castillo got the win for the Mariners, improving to 5-5 this season. Logan Gilbert put in a strong start for the Mariners, allowing one run on 3 hits and two walks, fanning 4 hitters in 5 2/3 innings pitched. Joe Smith finished the 6th for Gilbert. After Castillo, Paul Sewald pitched a scoreless 8th, and Drew Steckenrider got his 13th save of the season in the 9th.
Mariners manager Scott Servais offered an encouraging message about his young talent, saying that "If you're a Mariners fan or part of this organization, you should feel very good about where we're heading and our future. The experiences that those kids gained tonight will help them for many years to come."
The loss for the A's, already 3 1/2 games back in the wild card race, was the final nail in the coffin, as they were officially eliminated from contention with 3 games left in the season. It snaps a 3 year streak of them making the playoffs, and they had also qualified in 6 of the last 9 seasons.
Andrew Chafin got the loss for the A's, allowing one run in the 7th inning, dropping his record to 2-4 this season. Frankie Montas turned in a strong outing in his start, getting a no decision after being charged with two runs on 4 hits and one walk, striking out 7 hitters across 6 innings pitched. Sergio Romo also gave up one run in his relief outing.
Oakland 3rd baseman Matt Chapman talked about being eliminated, saying after the game that "It’s not like one individual let us down. We just came up short. For me, personally, I’m very upset with how I finished this season. I know I’m capable of more. It just hurts when I feel like I could have done more to help this team."
Both teams have a day off on Thursday, with the Mariners starting a series with the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, with Marco Gonzales expected to start. Sean Manaea starts for the A's on Friday as they play the Houston Astros for the weekend.
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