SEATTLE - Headed for another meltdown that looked all too familiar, the A's instead provided fans a welcome plot twist.
After blowing a three-run lead in the seventh, the A's roared back with five runs in the ninth and rang up a 9-6 victory over the Mariners to snap their four-game losing streak.
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All signs pointed to the kind of collapse that's been a theme for the A's on this six-game road trip, after Seattle rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game in the seventh. Kyle Seager then homered off Ryan Madson in the eighth to put Seattle ahead 5-4.
But Matt Joyce, who has done damage offensively throughout this trip, drilled a two-run homer off Steve Cishek to put the A's back ahead, and Mark Canha added a three-run shot for emphasis off Marc Rzepczynski for a 9-5 lead.
They wound up working a lot harder than should have been necessary, but the A's finally pocketed their first win on this six-game trip that wraps up Wednesday.
The A's would probably like to just skip the seventh inning and proceed to the eighth Wednesday. They've surrendered leads in the seventh on three different occasions this trip.
They led 4-1 Tuesday and were trying to work out of a bases-loaded one-out jam. But a potential double-play grounder slipped under the glove of third baseman Ryon Healy for an error that allowed two runs to score. Then, in what seemed an omen for another ‘L' coming their way, they had an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play wiped out by a replay reversal, and Seattle scored the tying run on the play.
But, trailing by a run after Seager's homer, the A's instead dug their heels in and authored a refreshing new ending.
Starting pitching report:
Andrew Triggs put the A's in position to win with six innings of one-run ball. He surrendered Nelson Cruz's home run on his third batter of the game, then the Mariners got nothing more off the right-hander, who came in tied for third in the American League in wins. He left with a 4-1 lead but was denied his sixth victory. Triggs allowed just four hits, walking two and striking out four.
Bullpen report:
Healy's error was the glaring turning point of the Mariners' three-run game-tying rally, but the relief corps again played a part in squandering that lead. Ryan Dull allowed two singles (one an infield job) and a wild pitch, and Daniel Coulombe hit Jarrod Dyson on a 1-2 pitch to aid that seventh-inning rally for the home team. Madson gave up the go-ahead homer in the eighth. Handed a four-run lead in the ninth, Casilla gave up a run and had to work hard before nailing down the victory.
At the plate:
Having lived and died with the long ball most of this season, the A's shifted gears in a fourth inning rally that extended a 2-1 lead. Canha and Stephen Vogt began the inning with back-to-back doubles to score a run. Then Adam Rosales bunted Vogt to third and Josh Phegley singled him home for a 4-1 lead. Oakland didn't completely go away from its bread and butter, as Healy crushed a two-run homer into the second deck in left to get them on the board in the second.
They trailed 5-4 entering the ninth. Rajai Davis led off with a pinch single and Joyce then hammered his go-ahead two-run shot to right. Joyce has three homers and seven RBI in five games on this trip. Canha, who started in center field, was 3-for-5 with the three-run homer.
In the field:
Healy's error was the A's 36th, adding to the major league-high total. They did get a lift behind the plate from Phegley, who threw out two would-be base stealers at second over the first three innings.
Attendance:
The announced crowd was 13,955.
Up next:
Jesse Hahn (1-2, 2.74) could use a little more help from his friends. His season run support of 2.74 per game is third lowest in the AL. He'll oppose Christian Bergman (0-1, 4.15) in Wednesday's 7:10 p.m. series finale
