Lawrence Butler hit two homers, the latter a two-run shot with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, to give the Athletics an 8-7 victory against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday afternoon in West Sacramento, Calif.
Seattle’s Randy Arozarena also homered twice, including a tiebreaking blast in the eighth inning, and had four RBIs.
Mariners closer Andres Munoz (5-6) got the final two outs in the eighth before returning for the ninth. Zack Gelof grounded a leadoff single into left field before Butler’s blast into the bullpen in right-center.
Elvis Alvarado (5-3) got the victory for the A’s (61-89), who also won the opener of the three-game series with a walk-off homer. The Mariners (70-80) missed a chance to gain ground on division-leading Houston in the American League West.
Gelof and Butler hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the first inning off Mariners starter Bryce Miller.
Arozarena tied it with a two-run homer with one out in the third after Jhonny Pereda’s leadoff double.
The Mariners took the lead with three runs in the fourth on Pereda’s sacrifice fly to left, a J.P. Crawford infield single and an RBI single from Arozarena to greet Scott Blewett, who replaced starter Jacob Lopez, which extended the lead to 5-2.
The Mariners tacked on another run in the fifth. After Cal Raleigh led off with a single, three of the next five batters walked, with Pereda’s walk against Luis Medina bringing home a run.
The Athletics tied the game with four runs in the seventh after loading the bases with no outs. Gelof brought home the first run with a bases-loaded walk. Butler’s RBI groundout cut the deficit to 6-4. Pinch hitter Shea Langeliers came through with a two-run single which deflected off right-hander Seranthony Dominguez and into right field to level the score.
Miller, who had lost his past seven decisions, went five innings and allowed two runs on two hits. The right-hander walked five and struck out five.
Lopez lasted 3 2/3 innings and gave up five runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
