SEATTLE -- The saying goes “when it rains, it pours," and for a Mariners team that was playing under the roof at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday night for the first time since June 18, the metaphor had a bizarrely coincidental connotation during a 3-1 loss to the A's.

Roughly two hours before gametime, right-hander George Kirby was scratched from his start with an illness. Then, minutes before first pitch, Julio Rodríguez was pulled from the starting lineup with left foot soreness -- specifically, a nerve issue he sustained during his warmup routine, temporarily halting his bid to extend his career-best homer streak to four games.

Making matters more troubling, Ty France exited ahead of the third inning after a chopped pickoff attempt from Luke Weaver led to a contusion in his left thumb and wrist. And for good -- or rather, bad -- measure, J.P. Crawford came up gingerly after a hard slide into second base on a forceout that ended the third. Crawford finished the game and said afterward that he was OK, despite showing visible discomfort shortly after the play when taking the field at shortstop.

Rodríguez and France are day to day, and it’s unclear when Kirby will be re-slotted back into the rotation.

“You're always concerned,” manager Scott Servais said. “We'll see how these guys feel when they come in tomorrow. . ... You just never know. Things happen. Things come up, and we have been pretty injury-free here through the whole month of August.”

The attrition to key contributors, coupled with just two hits before the ninth inning against an Oakland pitching staff that has, statistically, been the worst in baseball, snapped the Mariners’ win streak at four.

They had a baserunner in every inning but the first and seventh, thanks to six walks and a hit-by-pitch, but they were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 -- including a game-ending strikeout by Eugenio Suárez with Josh Rojas on third base and Crawford on second after each had a two-out hit.

Their lone run came via a bases-loaded walk from A’s starter Ken Waldichuk to Cade Marlowe in the fourth.

Seattle’s first loss to Oakland in its ninth meeting this year prevented the club from setting a franchise record for what would’ve been its 21st win in a single month. It’ll have one more chance at history in the three-game series finale on Wednesday.

Also, both Texas and Houston won on Tuesday, creating a three-way tie atop the American League West. These three clubs are also tied in the AL Wild Card standings, 5 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay, which occupies the top spot.

The more pressing matter, obviously, is on the three players who were sidelined on Tuesday.

Rodríguez

The likely AL Player of the Month was feeling better by the time Servais met with reporters postgame, but it’s unclear how quickly he’ll return.

“There's no replacement for Julio, and certainly how he's playing right now,” Servais said. “But you're hoping guys find a way to get on base, create traffic and then you get a big hit.”

In their September/October stretch last year, the Mariners went 7-8 when Rodríguez missed time with a lower back injury. If that's any indication of what to expect this time, they’ll badly need him as each game becomes more crucial. Overall, Seattle is 146-112 when Rodríguez plays and 19-17 without him, dating back to his debut on Opening Day 2022.

France

“[It] hit him right up in the left thumb and that swelled up on him,” Servais said. “So again, the treatment on Ty, the swelling seems to have gone down a little bit early on.”

The first baseman has been on the IL each of the past two seasons with left arm injuries, which directly correlated with a curtail in production. In 2022, France had an .867 OPS before a left elbow sprain he suffered in the field on June 23, then he labored through a .687 OPS in his final 70 games and revealed in Spring Training the following spring that he was playing through pain.

Kirby

The first-time All-Star was under the weather upon arriving to the ballpark on Tuesday, but could be re-slotted back into the rotation when he feels better.

“He was in my office along with the pitching coaches, and we need to do the best thing for the player,” Servais said. “George wanted to try to go out there and it wasn't the right move. He just didn't feel good and didn't look good.”