Julio Rodríguez and the Mariners stay red hot with 7-0 win over Oakland
SEATTLE (AP) — Julio Rodríguez kept up his torrid August with four more hits including a two-run homer and an RBI double, J.P. Crawford hit his fifth leadoff homer and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 7-0 on Monday night.
Seattle won its fourth straight and for the 12th time in the past 13 games as the hottest team in baseball kept rolling behind its suddenly unstoppable offense. The Mariners have 20 wins in August matching the most wins in a month in franchise history with two games remaining.
It was Rodríguez and the bats leading the way yet again.
Seattle scored at least six runs for the 12th time in 18 games, and while most of the lineup contributed it was the top of the order doing most of the damage against the lowly A’s.
Crawford hit his 12th homer on the second pitch of the bottom of the first inning from Kyle Muller. Eugenio Suárez sandwiched a pair of doubles around and walk and scored once. Teoscar Hernández had a pair of RBI singles.
Rodríguez scorched a 112 mph double in the third inning to score Crawford from first base and hit his 24th homer, a 420-foot drive in the fourth inning. For good measure, Rodríguez beat out a pair of infield grounders for hits in the sixth and eighth innings.
Rodríguez extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games and homered for the third straight game. During his hitting streak, Rodríguez is hitting .516 (32 of 62) with five homers, six doubles and 21 RBIs.
Seattle was hoping rookie starter Bryan Woo could make it into the fifth inning while still on a limited pitch count after missing time this month with forearm inflammation. Woo (2-3) bettered anything the Mariners could have hoped, scattering three hits over six innings. Woo struck out five and needed just 69 pitches to match his longest career outing.
It was Seattle’s 13th shutout this season, tied for second with Cleveland and two back of Atlanta. Oakland was shut out for the 14th time.
Muller (1-5) started for the first time since July 1 for the A’s, having made his last two appearances for Oakland in relief after spending time in the minors. Muller struggled to get through the fourth, giving up six runs and nine hits.
RECORD MONTH
Seattle won 20 games in a month for the seventh time, the first since the 2001 season when the Mariners won a record-tying 116 games. Seattle won 20 games in a month four times that season.
UP NEXT
Athletics: LHP Ken Waldichuk (2-7, 6.05) will take his turn as a traditional starter for the 17th time this season. Waldichuk has struggled with home runs lately, allowing five long balls in 10 2/3 innings combined over his last two starts.
Mariners: RHP George Kirby (10-8, 3.28) will make his first home start since throwing nine shutout innings against Baltimore on Aug. 12 in a game Seattle lost 1-0 in extra innings. Kirby allowed three runs and eight hits, but struck out nine in his last start against the White Sox.
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