Major League Baseball
Seattle 6, Oakland 3
When: 3:35 PM ET, Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Where: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
Temperature: 63°
Umpires: Home - Scott Barry, 1B - Quinn Wolcott, 2B - Brian O'Nora, 3B - Ben May
Attendance: 14989

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kyle Seager was on deck when Seattle Mariners teammate Nelson Cruz crushed a two-run, 450-foot home run into the left field seats in the third inning Wednesday afternoon against the Oakland Athletics.

"That's probably the loudest ball I've heard hit on a field," Seager said. "Just from where I was right there. I was pretty close to him, but it was a pop. It sounded like a shotgun. It was incredible just how fast it got out, just how hard he hit it. It was pretty special."

Cruz had yet another loud and special day against the A's, hitting his 25th and 26th home runs in the Mariners' 6-3 victory over the A's at the Oakland Coliseum. Seager did his part, launching a three-run blast in the first inning.

Cruz added a solo blast in the fifth for his second multi-homer game of the season and 23rd career.

"I feel 100 percent healthy," Cruz said. "Thank God. Hopefully I stay like that."

Cruz drove in three runs, giving him 22 RBIs in 13 games against the A's in 2017, the most by a Mariners' player versus Oakland in a single season. He has seven home runs against the A's this year and 29 for his career, his second highest total against any team. Cruz has a career-high 98 RBIs against the A's and Angels.

Cruz said he can't explain his success against the A's.

"I guess luck," Cruz said.

If that's the case, then Cruz has plenty of good luck against most teams in the major leagues.

"I don't think it's just the A's," Seager said. "I remember playing against him and he used to do it to us, too. He's a lot of fun to watch and you certainly want him on your team. He hit a ball I remember against us that I actually jumped for (at third base) and it ended up being a homer. He's incredible."

The Mariners (59-56) won for the fourth time in their past five contests and finished their nine-game road trip with a 6-3 mark after sweeping a two-game series from Oakland. They entered the day in a three-way tie for the second wild-card spot in the American League with Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

"I think once we were one-half game behind in the wild card, I think everybody just put the switch on," Cruz said. "Every little piece that we needed early in the year is clicking right now."

Mariners right-hander Yovani Gallardo allowed three runs on six hits, including two home runs, over 4 1/3 innings to receive a no-decision. He struck out three, walked two and threw 94 pitches.

Emilio Pagan (1-2) blanked the A's on one hit over 2 1/3 innings for his first major league victory. Tony Zych pitched a perfect eighth inning and Edwin Diaz a scoreless ninth for his 25th save.

Khris Davis hit his 31st home run, a solo shot in the third, and Matt Joyce added his 15th, a leadoff homer in the first, for the A's.

Oakland right-hander Jharel Cotton (5-9) allowed six runs on eight hits, including three home runs, over six innings. He struck out four and walked one in his third straight rough start since coming off the disabled list after recovering from a blister on his right thumb.

"The one to Seager was just a changeup not well executed," Cotton said. "The two to Cruz were not executed. Just three not executed pitches and it cost me today. Cost the team a victory."

The Mariners took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Seager's 17th home run of the season, a three-run shot into the right field seats. Jean Segura and Robinson Cano were on base with singles, and Seager delivered with two outs, driving Cotton's 1-2 changeup.

"He's got good stuff," Seager said of Cotton. "He's got a good changeup. We know about that. Fortunate for me, I was able to get one up in the zone and it worked out."

Oakland answered with Joyce's leadoff homer in the bottom of the first. Joyce led off a game with a homer for the third time this season and for the seventh time of his career.

Seattle increased its lead to 5-1 in the top of the third when Cano lined a leadoff single and Cruz crushed Cotton's belt-high, 90 mph fastball into the left field seats.

Davis cut Seattle's lead to 5-2 with his solo blast to right-center with two outs in the bottom of the inning.

Cruz made it 6-2 in the fifth with his second homer of the day off Cotton, a solo blast over the center-field fence with one out.

"The homers kind of did him in," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Cotton. "Other than that, we needed at least six innings out of our starter today. At the end he seemed like he got a little better. You just have to keep them down earlier, minimize the damage some."

Oakland responded with a run in the bottom of the third when Joyce lined a leadoff single and scored on Jed Lowrie's double. Before Lowrie brought Joyce home, left fielder Ben Gamel robbed Marcus Semien of a possible home run when he made a leaping catch and held on after slamming into the fence.

"That was a heck of a catch," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "He took off. No worries just throwing his body out there trying to make a play. He went after it, kind of like he's done all year."

NOTES: A's RHP Bobby Wahl (strained right shoulder) will be examined by Dr. Gregory Pearl, a vascular surgeon, in Dallas on Friday. Wahl has been on the DL since May 24 and missed his 69th game Wednesday. ... A's C Josh Phegley (strained left oblique) will likely begin a rehab assignment in a week or so, manager Bob Melvin said. Phegley has been on the disabled list since July 25. ... Mariners LHP Ariel Miranda entered play Wednesday leading the major-leagues in a dubious statistical category -- home runs allowed. He has surrendered 29 home runs, including two on Tuesday against Oakland. "It's not great," Mariners manager Scott Servais said Wednesday. "We got to try to address it. The home runs have certainly hurt. We need to get him back on track." ... Seattle 1B Yonder Alonso went 0-for-4 in his second game since being traded by Oakland to the Mariners.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Seattle   Oakland
Yovani Gallardo Player Jharel Cotton
No Decision W/L Loss
4.1 IP 6.0
3 Strikeouts 4
6 Hits 8
6.23 ERA 9.00
Hitting
Seattle   Oakland
Nelson Cruz Player Matt Joyce
2 Hits 2
3 RBI 1
2 HR 1
8 TB 5
.500 Avg .400
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Seattle 8 3 17 .229 9 5 6 2 2 0
Oakland 7 2 15 .206 14 8 3 3 0 0