Defense Fails M's Late, A's Win 5-2

The starting pitchers Friday night were spectacular for both Seattle and Oakland. Unfortunately, a couple of bad plays and bad relief pitches cost Seattle a chance to win.

Yusei Kikuchi was cruising for Seattle through six innings. Then, Domingo Santana struggled with a play in right field which allowed Matt Olson to tie the game at 2-2.

Two batters after the Santana error, Ramon Laureano hit a sacrifice fly that gave the A’s the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run, 3-2 at the time.

In the ninth, Seattle’s Dan Altavilla struggled with his command and walked two of the first three batters. He got a ground ball, but the double play was a fraction late to first.

The A’s got a huge 2-run double from pinch hitter Robbie Grossman, which put Oakland up 5-2. Seattle couldn’t manage a base runner in the home half of the ninth.

Winning Pitcher, (9-5) Brett Anderson: 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 K, 0 BB

Losing Pitcher, (4-6) Yusei Kikuchi: 7.0 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 5 K, 1 BB

Save (4), Liam Hendricks: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB

Game 2 of the Mariners-Athletics 3-game series is Saturday night. Pregame coverage starts at 6 p.m. on 102.9/750 The Game.

Here are the highlights from the game:

Bottom 1st … J.P. Crawford Sacrifice Fly, 1-0 Mariners