Emil Brown, Jack Cust spark 4-run rally in 8th inning to lift A's to 4-2 win over Mariners
By TIM BOOTH | Associated Press | Apr 27, 08 6:30 PM CDT in
Sports
Emil Brown's broken-bat, two-run single finally got Oakland on the board, Jack Cust's RBI single gave Oakland its first lead and the Athletics scored four times in the eighth to beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 on Sunday.
Seattle starter Felix Hernandez cruised through seven innings, giving up just four hits and striking out 10. But he could not escape trouble in the eighth.
Hernandez (2-1) walked Jack Hannahan on a 3-2 pitch to open the inning as the Safeco Field roof slowly closed with a light rain falling. Mark Ellis then doubled and Daric Barton walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases, and Brown dumped a broken bat single into left that ended Hernandez's day.
Brandon Morrow entered for Seattle and continued the trend, walking Frank Thomas on a 3-2 pitch. Cust, who struggled in the field with a pair of deep fly balls and struck out twice, lined a single into right to score Barton, giving Oakland its first lead.
Ryan Sweeney capped the rally, lining a single into left past a diving Adrian Beltre to score Brown. Sean Green finally got Seattle out of the inning with a strikeout of Hannahan.
Joe Blanton (2-4) was a surprise winner for Oakland, trailing all day but managing to keep the A's close long enough for their offense to show up. Blanton went seven innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and striking out three.
Blanton pitched at least seven innings for the fourth consecutive start, but won for the first time since April 11 at Cleveland.
Huston Street pitched the ninth for his eighth save in nine opportunities. He also got the save Friday night as Oakland took two of three from its AL West rival.
Beltre had a two-out, RBI single in the first for Seattle, scoring Jose Lopez, and Yuniesky Betancourt hit his first homer of the season, a line drive into the Oakland bullpen in the fourth.
Otherwise, Seattle missed out on scoring opportunities in the second and sixth, when Brad Wilkerson doubled and Kenji Johjima singled with one out, putting runners on first and third. Betancourt grounded into a double play that ended the inning.
Oakland threatened in the fourth, loading the bases on singles by Ellis, Brown and a 20-foot broken bat infield single from Thomas, where the barrel of the bat ended up in shallow left.
Hernandez got Cust swinging at a 1-2 fastball, then induced Crosby's slow chopper to third, where Beltre fielded the grounder on the bag to end the inning.
Notes:@ Rain suddenly started falling in the bottom of the seventh with the Safeco Field roof open. The roof didn't completely close until three batters into the top of the eighth. ... Johjima had to get a new catching helmet in the fifth when a chunk of his broke off after Ellis' follow through caught the brim of Johjima's helmet.
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