Kemp scores winning run on defensive misplay, A’s beat M’s

By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Baseball Writer

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — It took a little bit of good fortune for the Oakland Athletics to finally beat the Mariners again at home.

Tony Kemp scored the winning run after pitcher Diego Castillo mishandled a high chopper by Sheldon Neuse with none out in the 10th inning, and the A’s beat surging Seattle 4-3 on Saturday.

Seattle had its four-game winning streak snapped, and also a 10-game run of victories in the Coliseum dating to the A’s last win on May 26, 2021 — Oakland’s longest skid at home against the Mariners.

Neuse is thrilled to see all the young A’s contributing.

“I think it’s huge. For next year, whoever’s going to be here and whoever’s not going to be here, you don’t know, but figure out what people can do,” he said. “Let’s see. There’s no reason to look over each other’s shoulders. Just go play ball and figure out what we can do.”

Kemp started on second base and Seth Brown was intentionally walked by Castillo (7-2) before Sean Murphy walked to load the bases for Neuse. Castillo reached up and cleanly fielded the bouncer but dropped the ball trying to make the exchange and failed to make a throw home — he might not have gotten Kemp anyway.

“Tony had a great day today on both sides of the ball,” manager Mark Kotsay said.

Dany Jiménez (3-4) pitched the ninth and 10th for the win. He is finally healthy again after a shoulder injury and produced his sixth game not allowing a run since returning from the injured list Aug. 2.

Eugenio Suárez hit a tying single in the eighth for Seattle against Zach Jackson a day after the Seattle slugger homered twice. Kemp had put the A’s ahead on a go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning.

A’s starter James Kaprielian allowed two runs on three hits, struck out three and walked four in five innings. He is winless in nine home starts this year.

Julio Rodríguez and Suárez hit triples for Seattle against a team that never seems to deliver three-baggers, but the Mariners couldn’t hold their early 2-0 lead.

The A’s, meanwhile, haven’t tripled in 81 games since Brown on May 18 — the longest drought by any team since 1901.

Ty France and Adam Frazier followed those big hits with sacrifice flies to give starter Logan Gilbert an early chance. The right-hander ultimately had his winless streak reach eight starts since a win at San Diego on July 5. Gilbert had allowed 16 earned runs over his previous three outings.

Seattle won the opener 10-2 on Friday night and will try to secure another winning series in Sunday’s series finale, having gone 12-3-1 in series over its last 16 sets since June 21. That is the best stretch since the AL-best 116-win 2001 team — the Mariners’ last playoff club, too — captured 15 of its final 16 series.

Rodríguez tripled to start the game and France’s fly moments later gave the Mariners an immediate lead. Rodríguez was originally given a single in the third but it was overturned on replay review, though he added another base hit in the fifth.

Nick Allen got the A’s on the board with an RBI single in the fifth and Oakland improved to 4-8 against Seattle this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: OF Skye Bolt was a late scratch with left knee soreness after being scheduled to start in right field. … RHP Brent Honeywell pitched two rehab innings with Class-A Stockton on Friday night in his second minor league appearance since being shut down during spring training in late March with a stress reaction in his pitching elbow. His next outing will be with Triple-A Las Vegas. “The best part about it is I feel good today,” he said. … CF Ramón Laureano took 15 dry swings in the cage in a key first step in his hitting program while recovering from a strained left oblique. Laureano was pleased with the progress.

UP NEXT

RHP Luis Castillo (1-0, 2.18 ERA) takes the mound for Seattle in the series finale. It’s his first career start against the A’s after being traded to the Mariners from the Reds before the deadline.

LHP JP Sears (4-0, 1.95) counters for Oakland, having gone 1-0 over two starts since being recalled Aug. 10 from Triple-A Las Vegas.

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