Cortes' big night leads A's to comeback win in Seattle

SEATTLE – Despite the 14-game difference in overall win total, there wasn’t much separation whenever the Athletics matched up against the eventual American League West champion Mariners last season.

If Monday night’s first encounter of 2026 between these two clubs is any indication, we might be in for some more nail-biting action.

A trio of solo shots by Carlos Cortes, Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers erased an early three-run deficit. From there, J.T. Ginn and the A’s bullpen managed to limit the Mariners to one run the rest of the way, with a three-run eighth capped by Lawrence Butler’s two-run single enough for a 6-4 victory at T-Mobile Park.

It was an encouraging start to a big six-game divisional road trip for this playoff-aspiring A’s squad that starts with three against the Mariners and continues over the weekend with three against the Rangers.

In ‘25, the A’s went 6-7 against Seattle, with 11 of the 13 head-to-head matchups decided by two runs or fewer. The A’s actually outscored the Mariners in that season series, 49-48. Monday’s series opener had a similar vibe, where it felt like every pitch after the A’s tied it in the sixth was of the utmost importance.

“[The Mariners] were one game away from going to the World Series last year,” Langeliers said. “Last year, it kind of felt like a dogfight every time we played them. I don’t think it’s going to be any different this year. These early games in the season, you can look back later and realize how much they mean.”

No division is won or lost in April. This game, however, set a tone for the A’s, now 12-11 and in sole possession of first place in the AL West. They believe they can contend for a division title, something that has eluded them since 2020.

Achieving that goal starts with playing well against the Mariners, who remain the class of this division. There is a clear respect within the A’s clubhouse for their foes up in the Pacific Northwest. There is also a desire to beat them and prove to the rest of the baseball world that the A’s should be taken seriously after years of rebuilding.

“If we want to beat anybody, we want to beat the Mariners,” Butler said. “So it felt really good beating them tonight. I wish [the stadium] was more packed out so more fans could go home sad.”

The version of the A’s we saw Monday can hang with any team. Its shining trait is a high-powered offense, which pieced together 13 hits against Seattle, including a career-high four by Cortes, who never previously notched more than two hits in a game.

“We never really care about the score at the beginning of the game,” Butler said. “We know what we can do on offense. As long as we get a chance to hit, we know we have a chance to win a game. If you just put the bat in our hands, one through nine, we can get it done.”

The A’s also believe they are an improved squad in the pitching department, though they have issued the third-most walks (116) in the Majors. Following a pregame meeting that emphasized limiting free bases, however, A’s pitchers combined to allow just one walk in nine innings.

“Our starters have been struggling a little bit with walks,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “Tonight, we had one walk, which says a lot about them listening and applying the message.”

Reaching their desired destination by season’s end will also require figuring out their closer-by-committee situation, and the A’s appear to be nearing a solution on that front as well.

Summoned for his fourth save opportunity of the year, Joel Kuhnel allowed his first run of the year on an RBI double by Leo Rivas but still managed to shut the door after that by retiring JP Crawford and Cal Raleigh for his fourth save. There has been no official closer title placed on Kuhnel yet, but the big right-hander is showing that he can get the job done on a consistent basis.

“That was important for Joel,” Kotsay said. “Tonight, he got himself into some trouble and managed to execute pitches on Crawford and Cal there, which shows a lot. Again, he hasn’t been in that situation a ton, but he was able to have success even though he gave up a run and had the tying run at the plate.”