Haniger’s homer helps M’s beat A’s 4-2, close in wild card

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/09/2021 (1494 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SEATTLE (AP) — Mitch Haniger hit his 100th home run and third in two games, and the Seattle Mariners pulled within a half-game of the second AL wild card berth by beating the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Tyler Anderson pitched four innings on two days’ rest for the Mariners, who won their team-record 11th straight game over Oakland. The Mariners, 18 games over .500 for the first time since August 2018, has won four in a row and nine of 10.

Seattle (88-70) is just behind Boston (88-69) and just ahead of Toronto (87-70) in the wild card race, trailing the New York Yankees (90-67). The Mariners finish their series against the A’s on Wednesday, then host the Los Angeles Angels for their final three games of the regular season.

Seattle would be eliminated from the AL West race with one more loss or one win by first-place Houston (92-65).

Oakland (85-73) is 3 1/2 games back of the Red Sox.

Haniger hit his third homer of the series into the bullpen in left field in the seventh inning after hitting two nearly identical three-run shots in Monday’s 13-4 wins. His 38 homers and 95 RBIs are career highs, coming after he missed much of 2019 and all of 2020 due to two operations.

Casey Sadler set the team record with his 26th straight scoreless appearance, getting the Mariners out of a jam in the fifth with two on. He pitched 1 1/3 innings with a strikeout.

Anthony Misiewicz (5-5) and four relievers combined to give up one unearned run over five innings. Drew Steckenrider allowed a leadoff single in the ninth, then got three straight outs as he struck out two for his 12th save in 15 chances.

No. 8 hitter Jake Fraley had a go-ahead two-run double against Yusmeiro Petit (8-3) in the fourth, and No. 9 hitter Tom Murphy drove in a run for the Mariners in their 40th comeback win.

Anderson, acquired as a fifth starter from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline, gave up nine runs and nine hits in two-plus innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. The abbreviated outing made it possible for him to start in place of struggling Yusei Kikuchi.

Anderson gave up two hits, including a solo homer to Chad Pinder in the fourth. He threw 40 of his 46 pitches for strikes.

STREAKING

Sadler has pitched 25 straight scoreless innings, second only to Shigetoshi Hasegawa’s 28 2/3 in 2003. … Seattle’s previous consecutive wins streaks were set against Kansas City in 1985 and the Baltimore in 2001.

ROSTER MOVE

The Mariners bolstered their bullpen for the playoff run by calling up RHP Matt Brash from Triple-A Tacoma on the same day they selected him minor league system pitcher of the year. The 23-year-old rookie will be the 11th Mariners player to make his debut this season when he makes his first appearance. Brash had a 2.31 ERA in 20 appearances at Class A Everett and Double-AA Arkansas with 142 strikeouts. He was part of a combined no-hitter, pitching the first six innings, for Arkansas.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: OF Starling Marte (strained left lat) spent time in the batting cage Tuesday, manager Bob Melvin said, but is not yet ready to return to the lineup. Melvin said he remains day to day. … INF Josh Harrison (strained quad) returned to the lineup.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

UP NEXT

Athletics: RHP Frankie Montas (13-9, 3.48) is 5-2 with a 2.33 ERA in 13 starts since the All-Star break.

Mariners: Rookie RHP Logan Gilbert (6-5, 4.83) will finish off the series. Seattle is 15-8 when he starts.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports