Mariners ride 23-hit attack to rout Athletics

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Interstat) — The Seattle Mariners turned a road game into a runaway Saturday night, collecting 23 hits and pounding the Athletics 19-1 at Sutter Health Park. Cole Young powered Seattle with three hits, including a home run, and five RBIs. Bryan Woo pitched six scoreless innings as the Mariners improved to 70-79 and the Athletics dropped to 60-89. The game took 2 hours, 47 minutes and drew 10,289 fans. Seattle’s 19 runs were its highest total of the season.

Seattle set the tone immediately. J.P. Crawford singled in the first inning, and Dominic Canzone followed with a two-run homer to right-center. After Cal Raleigh walked and Julio Rodríguez singled, Josh Naylor lined into an unassisted double play to end the threat. The Athletics put two runners on in the bottom of the first, but Woo struck out Henry Bolte and Donovan Walton around a walk and a single to keep West Sacramento off the board. Woo then retired the side in order in the second, using a groundout, a flyout and a popout to keep the Mariners in front.

The Mariners broke the game open in the second. Weston Wilson singled, Crawford was hit by a pitch, and Randy Arozarena launched a three-run homer to left-center for a 5-0 lead. Seattle’s offense went quiet briefly, but the Athletics managed only one run in the third. Henry Bolte walked, moved to third on a throwing error by Woo, and scored on Shea Langeliers’ force out. That was the extent of the Athletics’ scoring. Woo responded with a clean fourth, striking out Zack Gelof and inducing two popouts.

Michael Arroyo delivered a notable performance. The Seattle designated hitter finished 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, falling a triple short of the cycle. He collected his first major league hit with a double in the fourth inning, then homered in the seventh. He also added a sacrifice fly in the ninth. Arroyo’s breakthrough came as part of a relentless Seattle attack that produced five home runs and 23 hits, one shy of the franchise record. Seattle’s five home runs came from Canzone, Arozarena, Young, Arroyo and Crawford.

Cole Young’s night stood out even amid the barrage. He went 3-for-6 with a home run and five RBIs. His two-run homer in the fifth inning off Seth Johnson scored Josh Naylor and pushed Seattle ahead 9-1. Young added an RBI single in the eighth and a two-run single in the ninth, finishing with a team-high five RBIs. His production helped Seattle match a team record with five players recording three or more hits, a mark last reached on Aug. 22, 2001. Young’s fifth-inning drive came after Naylor singled, and it turned a seven-run lead into a nine-run cushion.

The rest of Seattle’s lineup joined in. Arozarena went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. Crawford went 2-for-6 with a home run and two RBIs. Canzone went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Wilson had a huge game with five hits in six at-bats and one RBI. Naylor went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Rodríguez added a double and a single while scoring twice. Seattle scored twice in the fourth when Arroyo doubled and Wilson and Arozarena delivered run-scoring singles. Seattle’s 19 runs were the most in a game since May 30, 2012. The 23 hits were the most since Sept. 22, 2004.

Bryan Woo earned the win, improving to 12-9. He allowed three hits over six innings, struck out five and did not allow an earned run. Hoby Milner and Michael Rucker each followed with a scoreless inning of relief, with Rucker adding a strikeout. Seattle’s pitchers combined for nine strikes, 52 balls and nine balls in play. Athletics pitchers, meanwhile, combined for 11 strikes, 33 balls and 11 balls in play. Gage Jump took the loss for the Athletics, falling to 6-11.

Seattle added four runs in the eighth. Victor Robles reached on a throwing error, Julio Rodríguez singled, and Naylor doubled home Robles. Cole Young singled home Rodríguez, Arroyo singled home Brock Rodden, and Weston Wilson singled before Lazaro Montes walked with the bases loaded to force in another run. In the ninth, walks to Raleigh, Rodríguez and Rodden loaded the bases, Young singled home two, and Arroyo’s sacrifice fly scored Rodden. The Mariners grounded into two double plays, including a line-drive double play in the first and a more conventional double play in the seventh.

The Athletics finished with five hits. Langeliers, Jonah Heim, Bolte, Muncy and Carlos Cortes each had one hit. The Athletics’ only run came in the third after Bolte walked and later scored on a force out. Their bullpen and defense could not slow Seattle’s lineup once the Mariners began stringing together hits. The Mariners finished with 23 hits and five home runs, while the Athletics mustered little against Woo and the Seattle bullpen.

The victory provided a response to Friday’s 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Athletics. Seattle had dropped the series opener in painful fashion, but the Mariners quickly erased that result with their most complete offensive performance of the season. The win also moved Seattle to 70-79 overall while the Athletics fell to 60-89. The teams were scheduled to conclude their series Sunday in West Sacramento before Seattle continued its road trip against the Los Angeles Angels.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Athletics 6, Seattle Mariners 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Seattle with a 55.2 percent probability to win. Seattle had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 20 went under the over/under line of 9.5. The projected final score favored the Athletics before the Mariners’ offense took over.