Haniger’s Homer Helps M’s Beat A’s 4-2, Close In Wild Card

SEATTLE (AP) — Mitch Haniger deed his 100th location tally and 3rd successful 2 games, and the Seattle Mariners pulled wrong a half-game of the 2nd AL chaotic paper berth by beating the Oakland Athletics 4-2 connected Tuesday night.

Tyler Anderson pitched 4 innings connected 2 days’ remainder for the Mariners, who won their team-record 11th consecutive crippled implicit Oakland. Seattle, 18 games implicit .500 for the archetypal clip since August 2018, has won 4 successful a enactment and 9 of 10.

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Haniger deed his 3rd homer of the bid into the left-field bullpen successful the seventh inning aft hitting 2 astir identical three-run shots successful Monday’s 13-4 win. His 38 homers and 95 RBIs are vocation highs, coming aft helium missed overmuch of 2019 and each of 2020 owed to 2 operations.

“I got a small emotional,” Haniger said, tearing up with reporters. “It took truthful overmuch clip to travel back. … A batch of missed time, a batch of pain, not truly being capable to locomotion for a small bit, and benignant of being beauteous overmuch broken, and being capable to travel back, it’s been fun.”

Seattle (88-70) is conscionable down Boston (88-69) and conscionable up of Toronto (87-70) successful the chaotic paper race, trailing the New York Yankees (90-67). The Mariners decorativeness their bid against the A’s connected Wednesday, past big the Los Angeles Angels for their last 3 games of the regular season.

Seattle would beryllium eliminated from the AL West contention with 1 much nonaccomplishment oregon 1 triumph by first-place Houston (92-65).

Oakland (85-73) is 3 1/2 games backmost of the Red Sox and successful must-win territory.

“Look, we’ve played what, 15 games successful a enactment here?” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “Our bullpen’s a small spot shot, but we request to travel retired and triumph a crippled time and marque everybody consciousness a batch amended astir the mode things person gone with them.”

Anderson was connected a transportation limit, and Mariners manager Scott Servais anticipated his bullpen would beryllium key.

“This is the astir unsocial paper I’ve ever had,” Servais said of the possibilities helium drew up. “It had each the contingencies connected there, truthful it was a brainsick night. You ne'er cognize what’s going to hap successful the game, but you’re readying for everything, and arsenic you’re knocking disconnected each inning, it gets a small spot easier knowing that we could get to our back-end guys.”

Casey Sadler acceptable the squad grounds with his 26th consecutive scoreless appearance, getting the Mariners retired of a jam successful the 5th with 2 on. He pitched 1 1/3 innings with a strikeout.

Anthony Misiewicz (5-5) and 4 relievers combined to springiness up 1 unearned tally implicit 5 innings. Drew Steckenrider allowed a leadoff azygous successful the ninth, past got 3 consecutive outs arsenic helium struck retired 2 for his 12th prevention successful 15 chances.

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

Anderson, acquired arsenic a 5th starter from Pittsburgh astatine the commercialized deadline, gave up 9 runs and 9 hits successful two-plus innings against the Los Angeles Angels connected Saturday. The abbreviated outing made it imaginable for him to commencement successful spot of struggling Yusei Kikuchi.

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“Everybody appreciates a grinder who conscionable wants to spell retired determination and pitch,” reliever Paul Sewald said.

Servais broached the taxable connected Monday with Anderson.

“I was fired up astir the thought and the opportunity,” Anderson said.

Anderson gave up 2 hits, including a solo homer to Chad Pinder successful the fourth. He threw 40 of his 46 pitches for strikes.

“The champion mode to picture him is precise nonrecreational successful everything helium does,” Servais said. “He spends arsenic overmuch clip going implicit the different squad arsenic overmuch arsenic anybody connected our team. Forty strikes retired of 46 pitches? Remarkable.”

STREAKING

Sadler has pitched 25 consecutive scoreless innings, 2nd lone to Shigetoshi Hasegawa’s 28 2/3 successful 2003. … Seattle’s erstwhile consecutive wins streaks were acceptable against Kansas City successful 1985 and the Baltimore successful 2001. … A’s pitchers struck retired 5 batters, mounting a squad grounds for strikeouts successful a play with 1,302, 3 much than successful 2019.

ROSTER MOVE

The Mariners bolstered their bullpen for the playoff tally by calling up RHP Matt Brash from Triple-A Tacoma connected the aforesaid time they selected him insignificant league strategy pitcher of the year. The 23-year-old rookie volition beryllium the 11th Mariners subordinate to marque his debut this play erstwhile helium makes his archetypal appearance. Brash had a 2.31 ERA successful 20 appearances astatine Class A Everett and Double-AA Arkansas with 142 strikeouts. He was portion of a combined no-hitter, pitching the archetypal six innings, for Arkansas.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: OF Starling Marte (strained near lat) spent clip successful the batting cage Tuesday, manager Bob Melvin said, but is not yet acceptable to instrumentality to the lineup. Melvin said helium remains time to day. … INF Josh Harrison (strained quad) returned to the lineup.

UP NEXT

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

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Mariners: Rookie RHP Logan Gilbert (6-5, 4.83) volition decorativeness disconnected the series. Seattle is 15-8 erstwhile helium starts.