Pitching woes strike Mariners in 7-5 loss in 13 innings
SEATTLE (AP) - With one on and one out in the 13th inning, J.C. Ramirez wasn't expecting Marcus Semien to swing for the fences.
The Seattle reliever fell behind in the count 3-1 and wanted to make sure he didn't put another man on base with a walk. Instead, Semien sent the pitch into the seats to lift the Oakland Athletics to a 7-5 victory over the Mariners on Saturday night.
"Honestly, I was thinking he was going to take it or maybe try to bunt it," Ramirez said. "I just threw a fastball right down the middle and he got a good swing on me."
Seattle's pitchers had trouble in big spots throughout the night. Starter Roenis Elias didn't make it out of the third inning, and Tom Wilhelmsen blew a save opportunity in the ninth.
Ramirez (0-1) pitched a perfect 12th inning before running into trouble in the 13th, giving up a leadoff single to Stephen Vogt and then Semien's homer.
Pat Venditte (2-2) entered in the 10th and pitched three scoreless innings for the Athletics. Felix Doubront worked the 13th for his first save.
Robinson Cano had a three-run homer and extended his hitting streak to 15 games for the Mariners.
Oakland's Danny Valencia homered for the second straight game.
With the Mariners up 5-4 going into the ninth, Wilhelmsen came on for his 14th save opportunity and ended up with his second blown save of the season. Wilhelmsen walked Billy Burns to lead off the inning, then hit Mark Canha. The runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, allowing Brett Lawrie to tie the game at 5 with a sacrifice fly.
Elias had one of his worst outings of the season, giving up three runs in the first inning and getting knocked out of the game without recording an out in the third. Elias gave up four runs, seven hits and three walks in his shortest start of the year.
"Obviously when your starter comes out as early as he come out it makes it tough," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "I thought our guys did a nice job staying in there and battling."
Elias allowed five straight batters to reach with one out in the first inning, including Valencia's three-run homer. In the third inning, the Athletics loaded the bases without an out against Elias on a single and two walks, leading McClendon to bring in reliever Tony Zych.
Zych gave up a run-scoring fielder's choice to Vogt, giving Oakland a 4-0 lead, but the rookie kept the Athletics off the board over the rest of his career-high three innings of work, allowing one hit.
Cano's homer in the third inning cut Oakland's lead to 4-3. The Mariners took a 5-4 lead in the sixth. With the bases loaded and no outs, Jesus Sucre grounded into a double play that scored Mark Trumbo, and Ketel Marte followed with a broken-bat RBI single up the middle.
EXTRA INNINGS
The Mariners have played a major league-high 23 extra-inning games this season and went 10-13. This was the longest game of the season for Seattle, which had played two previous 12-inning games.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: LHP Drew Pomeranz, who has not pitched since Sept. 26 with an AC joint inflammation, had an MRI and team orthopedist Dr. Will Workman recommended a shoulder clavicle resection. Pomeranz will get additional opinions before deciding whether to have the surgery. If he does elect for the procedure, recovery time will be about six week and it is expected he would be fully recovered for spring training, said Oakland manager Bob Melvin.
Mariners: DH Nelson Cruz was removed for a pinch-hitter in the 12th inning. Cruz said his groin was tight and he didn't want to push it. McClendon said it was unlikely Cruz would play in the final game of the season Sunday.
UP NEXT
Athletics: RHP Chris Bassitt (1-8, 3.60 ERA) will start the final game of the regular season for Oakland. Bassitt has lost four straight starts, and has the lowest winning percentage of any pitcher who has started at least 10 games this season.
Mariners: LHP Vidal Nuno (1-4, 4.19) will make his 10th start and 32nd appearance for Seattle.