A’s blow late lead, fall to Mariners 5-3

So close to first place

The A’s dropped the second game of the series against the Mariners on Tuesday evening 5-3, giving away a late lead to their division rivals and forgoing a chance to tie the division lead. Rats!

Left-hander Jeffrey Springs was back on the bump to make his eighth start of the season. The lefty has had some significant struggles in the first inning this season but entered tonight coming off a terrific outing where he only allowed two hits over six. Those first inning struggles reemerged today as Seattle scored twice the first two frames. First young center fielder Julio Rodriguez launched a home run over the right-center field wall for his sixth of the year, then a single and RBI double gave Seattle their second run.

The Athletics fought back immediately. Aiming for first place with a win today the A’s scored a first-inning run of their own. DH Brent Rooker walked and collected his first stolen base of the season, setting up Miguel Andujar for the scoring opportunity:

Cashing in, that prevented Seattle starting pitcher Emerson Hancock from securing a shutdown inning. The A’s would go on to tie this game up in the third inning thanks to a two-out base hit from Rooker on the first pitch he saw to bring in first baseman Nick Kurtz:

From there this game got quiet. Seattle would threaten against Springs in the fifth but the lefty finished the frame without giving up another run. His day was done from there after five full innings of two-run ball.

• Jeffrey Springs: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 98 pitches

Not quite as dominant as his last time out but more than deserving of the win tonight. Springs entered tonight with a 4.98 ERA and managed to lower that mark, albeit just to 4.81 over 39 innings. He’ll take that mark into his next scheduled start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which will obviously be a difficult assignment.

Righty Noah Murdock replaced Springs and pitched a scoreless sixth. Right-handers TJ McFarland and Justin Sterner flirted with danger and caused a bit of drama but ultimately also posted scoreless appearances.

Then came the bottom of the eighth. Rooker led off the frame with his seventh double of the year and left fielder Tyler Soderstrom followed him with a base hit to put runners at the corners with no outs. Looking to put his team ahead cleanup hitter Miguel Andujar came through for his squad for the second time tonight, this time delivering a base hit to center field to bring in the go-ahead run for the home team:

The Athletics would waste a chance for insurance but that at least set the A’s up for the ninth inning save opportunity.

Instead of turning to last year’s All-Star flamethrowing closer, who this year was nearly perfect in save opportunities, manager Mark Kotsay decided to bring in setup man Tyler Ferguson for his second save chance in three days and fourth straight day pitching. No one knows why Kotsay decided to turn to his setup man who was likely tired after repeated usage but he did. And the results weren’t shocking. Seattle scored three times in the top of the ninth inning to take the lead, one which they would hold on to through the ninth as they finished off the late rally to beat the Athletics 5-3.

That’s disheartening. The A’s were a mere three outs away from the top of the division but instead now fall back down to two games behind the Mariners. Springs got off to yet another rough start but he mitigated the damage and provided some length for a team desperate for it. The offense got some key hits in key spots for the second night in a row but it just wasn’t enough to overcome a ninth-inning meltdown. They’re now 20-17 but can’t dwell on this one. The team has another game tomorrow to finish the series.

Time to focus up. The A’s can still win the series tomorrow afternoon. They’ll march rookie right-hander Gunnar Hoglund to the mound for what will be his second career start. His first went amazingly but now he needs to continue that if he wants to remain in the rotation going forward. Seattle will counter with third-year right-hander Bryan Woo, who enters tomorrow’s contest with an impressive 2.58 ERA.