SEATTLE -- The Athletics anticipated having one of the most potent offenses in baseball this season. Of course, that prognostication did not account for losing four of their top sluggers to potential season-ending injuries.
There are a combined total of 73 home runs hit this season on the injured list between the absences of Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker. Despite that, the A’s showed Friday night that there is still plenty of thump left in this lineup by putting on the type of power display not seen in ages.
A 7-6 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park was highlighted by a five-run third inning that featured home runs by Max Muncy, Alika Williams, Jeff McNeil and Zack Gelof. All four long balls came off Seattle starter and longtime A’s nemesis Logan Gilbert, who was bounced out of the game after matching a season-high seven runs allowed across just 4 2/3 innings.
That high-powered third inning was the first time the A's have homered four times in one inning since April 27, 2002, when Scott Hatteberg, Terrence Long, Carlos Peña and Frank Menechino all went deep in the third inning against the White Sox.
The A’s have now won three games in a row for the first time since a four-game winning streak from June 9-13. A theme of the past three games has been an offensive outburst, with double-digit hit totals in all three contests.
For a second straight night, the A’s bullpen shut it down following a short outing from their starter, albeit with a mostly different cast of characters. This time, after Kade Morris lasted just 2 2/3 innings, the quartet of Brady Basso, Geoff Hartlieb, Elvis Alvarado and Hogan Harris combined to allow just one run across the game’s final 6 1/3 innings.