OAKLAND, Calif. — The Mariners return home, still searching for a formula that can give them a post-All-Star break victory.
Surrendering six home runs to the Oakland Athletics certainly wasn’t the solution as the Mariners fell to 0-5 since the break — and on an 0-6 skid overall — after a 10-2 defeat on Wednesday afternoon.
“The home-run ball just crushed us today,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “They hit some balls well and some that got up in the wind as well.”
The Mariners, who begin a 10-day, 10-game homestand Friday against the Los Angeles Angels, have lost six games in a row for the fourth time this season. Maybe home cooking can help a bit after they fell to 39-60 with their 13th loss in 15 games.
In five road losses to the Angels and A’s, Seattle was outscored 47-9.
“Rough road trip for us,” Servais said. “Really didn’t do much at all offensively.”
The A’s, who have won six straight games and 19 of 24, got the job done thanks to a solid Oakland debut by right-hander Homer Bailey, backed by the long ball.
Bailey, who came to the A’s in a trade from Kansas City on Sunday, gave up two runs in the second inning when Dylan Moore tripled in a run, then scored on a single by Dee Gordon.
But the Mariners managed just two more hits against Bailey over the next four innings.
It didn’t help that the heart of the Seattle lineup was quiet. J.P. Crawford, Domingo Santana and Omar Narvaez, the 2-3-4 hitters, were a combined 0-for-11. Narvaez, who homered twice on Tuesday night, struck out three times.
“Oakland’s playing very well right now. We’re not,” Servais said. “We just got beat. We’re getting beat consistently.”
Oakland pulled even at 2-2 in the bottom of the second when Ramon Laureano was credited with a gift double on a popup into the sun that dropped untouched next to the pitching mound. Jurickson Profar cashed it in with a two-run homer off Erik Swanson.
Promoted from Class AAA Tacoma the day before, Swanson was used in the opener role and went two innings. Servais said he threw well, despite allowing Profar’s home run.
His replacement, Tommy Milone, had a much rougher time, allowing three home runs in 4 1/3 innings
“For the most part I thought I was hitting spots. The ones that I wasn’t, it seemed like they were hitting,” Milone said.
Mark Canha led off the fourth with a home run to left, giving the A’s a 3-2 lead. Canha homered again in the sixth, giving him 15 on the year and his first career multi-homer game. Laureano followed with a double, Profar walked and Chad Pinder made it 7-2 with a three-run shot to right that didn’t look like a homer when it left his bat.
“Daytime this place plays a little smaller,” Milone added. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen balls fly out the way they did today.”
Tim Beckham appeared to hit a home run for the Mariners with two outs in the eighth, but Laureano reached over the center-field fence to pull it back. Laureano then hit the A’s fifth home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth.
Two batters later, Profar completed the A’s power display with a two-run shot, his second of the afternoon and 13th of the season.
Notes
• A’s third baseman Matt Chapman, who drove in five runs against the Mariners on Tuesday night, left the game Wednesday in the third inning with left-ankle soreness.
• Mac Williamson cleared waivers and was outrighted to Class AAA Tacoma.
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