OAKLAND — Jed Lowrie hit his 100th career home run, a two-run shot, to lead the Athletics to their fourth straight win, a 3-2 decision over the Mariners. The homer was Lowrie's 19th of the season, and his 76 RBI are a new career-high. Marcus Semien also homered for the third time in his last four games.
With the win, the A's improved to 72-48, just one game behind the Astros in the AL West. Oakland moved to 3 1/2 games ahead of Seattle for the second AL Wild Card spot.
Here's what else you need to know from Tuesday's victory...
--- Matt Chapman continued his remarkable play, both with his bat and with his glove. Chapman went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk to extend his career-high hitting streak to 12 games. He has now reached base safely in 28 straight games, the longest active streak in the American League. Chapman also made another highlight reel play on defense, diving onto the tarp to catch a foul ball.
--- Mike Fiers earned his first win as an Athletic, pitching six strong innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits, with five strikeouts and no walks. Fiers attacked the strike zone all night, throwing 57 strikes compared to just 21 balls. He lowered his ERA to 3.38 for the season and improved to 8-6. Fiers has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last nine starts. Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his 32nd save of the season, tied for third in MLB. He lowered his MLB-best ERA to 0.89.
--- Seattle starting pitcher James Paxton left the game after just 1/3 of an inning after getting hit in his pitching arm by a Jed Lowrie line drive. X-rays were negative and Paxton is listed as day-to-day with a left forearm contusion. He was replaced by Felix Hernandez, who made his first career relief appearance after 398 starts. He allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
--- Mariners infielder Robinson Cano returned from his 80-game suspension for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy. Cano played first base and went 1-for-4 with a single. He was booed loudly before each of his at-bats.
