A's spoil Iwakuma's no-hitter homecoming
SEATTLE -- In his first Safeco Field start since his no-hitter, Mariners right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma gave up seven runs in the fifth inning as the A's stormed from behind for an 11-5 win Monday night to snap an eight-game road losing streak.
Oakland starter Felix Doubront left the game after two innings with a bruised right foot after being hit by a Robinson Cano line drive and the Mariners immediately racked up five runs in the third off reliever Evan Scribner as Franklin Gutierrez and Mark Trumbo homered.
But after allowing just one baserunner through the first four innings, Iwakuma gave up two-run doubles by Billy Burns and Mark Canha and a two-run homer by Danny Valencia and was done after 4 2/3 innings, with the seven runs equaling the most he's allowed in his career. Josh Reddick added a solo homer in the A's three-run ninth to cap a three-hit, three-RBI night.
Video: OAK@SEA: Reddick collects three hits, assist in win
"We were winning, 5-0," said Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon. "But when the opposition scores 11 runs and gets 15 hits, there's not a lot to say, not a lot to analyze. We just didn't pitch well."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Guti, Trumbo tee off: With Doubront knocked out of the game early, the Mariners jumped on Scribner for five runs in the third. Gutierrez's three-run blast to center, on the heels of Cano's RBI single, gave Seattle a 4-0 lead. And Trumbo followed one out later with a solo shot to left for his third homer in his last four games. Gutierrez continues providing quite a comeback story as he's hit .299 with eight homers, nine doubles and 25 RBIs since being called up two months ago after sitting out all of 2014 with health issues.
"He's been off the charts," said McClendon.
Video: OAK@SEA: Gutierrez belts three-run shot to center
Heart and hustle: Following a pair of two-out, two-run doubles from Burns and Canha to put the A's within one run in the fifth, Reddick beat out an infield single to bring in the tying run, and it was his hustle that kept the inning alive for Valencia's go-ahead home run -- the third baseman's fifth homer in 15 games with the A's. Then, in the seventh, a heads-up play by Canha helped the A's secure another run. Canha singled to left with one out and alertly made his way to second when Seattle's defense took a snooze on Trumbo's throw back from left field, and he promptly scored on Reddick's ensuing single.
"That's one thing about Red, is he will run down the line every time," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He's done that for years here. It's easy to say, but at some point in time, continuing to do that is going to lead to something, and it did. It led to something big for us." More >
QUOTABLE
"It kind of spiraled quickly. Credit to them for keeping the rally going. But it's one that stings. We had a pretty good thing going for a while and it went the other way." -- Trumbo on the Mariners' fifth-inning meltdown.
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Mariners right fielder Nelson Cruz went 0-for-3, but extended his on-base streak to 34 games when he was hit by a pitch in the right elbow in the third. That's the longest streak in the American League since Jose Bautista's 39-game streak from Aug. 20, 2013, to May 10, 2014, for Toronto and the longest for the Mariners since Ichiro Suzuki's 43-game streak in 2009.
WHAT'S NEXT
A's: Right-hander Jesse Chavez, who is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA over his last three starts, gets the ball for Tuesday's 7:10 p.m. PT matchup with the Mariners at Safeco Field. Chavez is 0-2 with a 5.27 ERA in three games, including two starts, against the Mariners this season.
Mariners: Mike Montgomery (4-6, 4.16 ERA) will be looking for his first win since topping the A's on July 5 in Oakland when he takes the mound in Tuesday's rematch at Safeco Field. The rookie southpaw is 0-4, 7.45 in eight starts since allowing one run in 5 2/3 innings in that initial meeting.
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