Rookie Sears shines, but Oakland A’s shed 5-1 to playoff-certain Seattle Mariners

The Oakland A’s figure to have a good deal of opposition for the rotation subsequent spring, and rookie J.P. Sears produced one more persuasive argument to be element of that mix on Saturday in what was very likely was his final look of the period.

The A’s missing 5-1 in Seattle, their sixth straight loss and No. 102 of the time, but Sears confirmed why the A’s insisted he be aspect of the trade that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trevino to the Yankees, pitching 6 shutout inning immediately after getting above for opener Adam Oller in the 2nd inning.

“I believed Sears did a good job today commanding the baseball, making use of the fastball at the major of the zone,” A’s supervisor Mark Kotsay claimed. “His off-pace pitches obtained some swings and misses. …. The outing was wonderful to finish the yr on.”

Sears went 6-3 with a 3.86 Period involving the Yankees and A’s. Saturday was his 10th look with Oakland — his 1st out of the bullpen — and was between his most effective. He matched his year-significant for innings pitched and the six strikeouts ended up his 2nd-most of the period. He struck out a year-high seven and permitted a single unearned run above 5 innings in a Sept. 20 get started from the Mariners in Oakland.

Transferring ahead, the A’s have to be delighted with Sears’ results towards their AL West rivals. In 3 appearances versus Seattle due to the fact Aug. 21, Sears went 2- and allowed just one attained operate about 16 innings with 16 strikeouts.

With the Mariners even now buzzing several hours after clinching their 1st postseason look in 21 years, A’s leadoff hitter Tony Kemp singled on Mariners starter Luis Castillo’s initial pitch of the video game and scored on Jordan Diaz’s RBI one.

The Mariners answered with a few operates of their personal in the base of the to start with. But Sears saved the Mariners from extending the direct after entering the activity to start off the next. He struck out six, walked two and gave up just two hits, each of which the A’s wiped absent with double performs.

Oller arrived off the 15-day injured list Friday from a bout of rib costochondritis, the swelling of cartilage amongst the ribcage and breast bone. He gave up 3 operates and three hits, hanging out two and walking two before yielding to Sears. Kotsay mentioned utilizing Oller as the opener authorized the group to manage the former starter’s work in a way he was acquainted with.

Castillo saved the A’s bats silent after the 1st inning, striking out 8 in six innings of two-hit ball as Seattle held tempo with the Toronto Blue Jays in its bid to host an AL wild-card collection.

Castillo (8-6) retired 16 in a row to aid Seattle to its fourth consecutive acquire. The proper-hander settled down just after offering up two quick hits and a walk in the to start with inning to tumble powering 1- — about 12 hrs immediately after most Mariners still left the ballpark right after clinching the club’s initially playoff look in 21 many years.

“He was definitely in full manage of the activity and I would say that was possibly the most worry-free activity that we have experienced right here in very some time,” Mariners supervisor Scott Servais claimed. “I felt with him out on the mound and how the match was heading, the way the group was into it right now coming off last evening, it was a pleasant, flawlessly executed ballgame with a W guiding it. So we’ll see about sweeping them tomorrow.”