Oakland 3, Seattle 2
When: 3:10 PM ET, Sunday, October 2, 2016
Where: Safeco Field, Seattle, Washington
Temperature:
58°
Umpires:
Home -
Jim Joyce, 1B -
Chad Fairchild, 2B -
James Hoye, 3B -
Marvin Hudson
Attendance:
24856
By The Sports Xchange
SEATTLE -- When the ball came flying off Kyle Seager's bat and was headed toward the right-field seats in the ninth inning, the Seattle Mariners looked like they might have one more magical moment left in a season that had run out of gas.
In the end, Oakland right fielder Matt Olson reached up and kept the ball in the park, leaving Seager to let out a frustrated chuckle as the Athletics held on for a 3-2 win on Sunday in the season finale for both teams.
"That was a microcosm of our season," said Mariners manager Scott Servais, whose team had been eliminated from postseason contention about 16 hours earlier with a 10-inning loss to the A's on Saturday night. "So close."
Oakland's Stephen Vogt homered in his only at-bat, and the A's finished off a frustrating 2016 season on a two-game winning streak. Vogt's first inning home run help the A's (69-93) jump out to a 3-0 lead on the way to their first back-to-back wins since mid-September.
"This season wasn't what we wanted it to be," Oakland starter Sean Manaea said after pitching six strong innings to earn his seventh win of the season. "But I feel like the next couple of years we're going to be really, really good. ... I can definitely see how things are going to be in the future."
Seattle (86-76) fell short in its first game since being eliminated from postseason contention the previous night.
"We certainly didn't have a whole lot of wind in our sails," Servais said. "Last night and the run we've been on, it took a lot out of us - physically and emotionally. But we hung in there."
Shortstop Marcus Semien and Chad Pinder also drove in runs for the A's on the way to a 3-0 lead.
Seattle closed to within 3-2 on a two-run double from center fielder Guillermo Heredia in the fifth. The Mariners nearly tied the game with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but Olson stole a homer from Seager and Seattle pinch hitter Daniel Vogelbach, struck out to end the game and give Oakland's John Axford his third save of the season.
The A's scored three times on Mariners starter Felix Hernandez, who made an abbreviated appearance while throwing just 47 pitches over three innings.
"I think he'd had enough," Servais said. "It hasn't been a great season for Felix."
Vogt took Hernandez deep for a two-out, solo homer in the first inning. Vogt's 14th home run of the season gave the A's a 1-0 lead.
Two innings later, Semien tacked on an RBI single for a 2-0 lead, then he came around to score on a single from Pinder, who had replaced Vogt in the lineup, as the A's pulled out to a 3-0 lead.
"Obviously, those of us who've been here for a while, we know what Felix does to us: he beats us," Vogt said. "So it was nice to get some runs on him."
Hernandez (11-8) came out after three innings, allowing three runs off four hits. He finished the season with a 3.82 ERA -- his highest since 2007.
Manaea wound up a strong finish to his season with another solid performance. Manaea (7-9) allowed two runs off five hits over six innings.
"Talk about a great year," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "This is somebody to be excited about, and we are. And it was good that he finished up strong and got a win today too. ... Give him a healthy and a full year, and he's going to put up some pretty great numbers."
Seattle's Robinson Cano, one of only four regular starters in the Mariners' lineup, went 0-for-3 and failed to hit his 40th home run or attain a .300 batting average for the 10th time in his career. Cano finished an impressive season with 39 homers, a career high, and a .298 batting average. Seager failed to drive in a run, leaving the Mariners' third baseman with a career-high 99 RBIs.
Seven relievers combined to throw nine scoreless innings for the two teams.
NOTES: Sunday marked the first time this season that the Mariners played without any postseason aspirations. Saturday night's 9-8 loss to Oakland left Seattle out of playoff contention. ... DH/RF Nelson Cruz was among several veterans who weren't in the lineup for the Mariners. CF Leonys Martin also received a rare day off, along with LF Norichika Aoki, and All-Star 2B Robinson Cano filled in at DH as the Mariners closed out their season. ... Oakland didn't have veterans Khris Davis and Danny Valencia in the lineup Sunday. ... Seattle RHP Felix Hernandez has a 23-9 career record against the A's. Hernandez is tied with longtime Tigers pitcher Frank Tanana for the most wins against the franchise since the A's moved to the Bay Area in 1968.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Oakland
|
7 |
1 |
12 |
.226 |
12 |
9 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
Seattle
|
6 |
0 |
8 |
.188 |
13 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |