A's Capitalize on Key Moments to Take Game One Over Mariners
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The A's are enjoying their time atop the AL West, and with Monday's win over the Seattle Mariners, they now have a half-game lead over the Texas Rangers, allowing them to stretch out just a touch.
The key for this series up in Seattle is going to be the A's getting enough from their starting pitchers, and some timely hits from their potent offense, and that was exactly how the first game against the Mariners played out. The A's went 2-for-3 with runners in scoring position, while the Mariners went 1-for-12, and that production in key spots was the difference in the game.
The Mariners jumped on A's starter J.T. Ginn for two runs in the first inning. After escaping the jam, Ginn had some words for Josh Naylor, who was acting as though he had stolen signs from second base. Ginn didn't like the antics, and told him as much.
J.T. Ginn and Josh Naylor exchanged words after Naylor appeared to be relaying signs 👀 pic.twitter.com/yq5HUq4qru
— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) April 21, 2026
After a leadoff homer to Dominic Canzone in the bottom of the second, Ginn buckled in, giving up a pair of doubles and a walk, spaced out over the next few innings. He'd finish by going 5 1/3 frames, giving up six hits, three earned runs, one walk and striking out six.
It wasn't a shutdown performance, but given how it started, he gave the A's five-plus and kept the team in the game long enough for the offense to catch up. Given how it started, this was about as good of a performance as the A's could have hoped for, and it was exactly what he needed to do to help the A's take home a win.
The A's calling up Brady Basso, a second lefty on Monday, also allowed left-hander Hogan Harris to notch 1 2/3 innings of hitless ball, striking out two. All season Harris has been one of the team's best relief pitchers, ready to pitch in any situation, but also their lone lefty. The Basso addition made it so that Mark Kotsay could let Harris loose a little in a winnable game.
A's offense comes up clutch
The Seattle Mariners pitching staff has been one of the best in baseball for years now, and on Monday the green and gold were up against one of their breakout arms, Emerson Hancock. The A's offense wasn't able to get much going outside of Carlos Cortes, who singled in the first and homered in the fourth.
Cortes is in the starting lineup because Brent Rooker is on the IL, opening up the DH spot, and the lefty bat has been getting some extra playing time. He'd finish with four hits in the game.
In the sixth inning, the third time the A's got a look at Hancock, Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers went back-to-back on him and tied the game at 3-3. The A's would load the bases in the sixth, but weren't able to add on.
Then, in the eighth inning, a Tyler Soderstrom double and a Jacob Wilson single put runners on first and third with nobody out, and after a Jeff McNeil walk, Max Muncy clubbed a sac-fly to give the A's the lead.
They'd tack on two more, ending up with a 6-3 lead. Seattle would score one in the bottom of the ninth, and have Cal Raleigh representing the tying run at the plate, but Joel Kuhnel was able to secure his fourth save of the season.
It's early, but these wins matter
On social media you'll hear a lot of "but it's early" talk regardless of a team's fortunes. If a team is underperforming, there is plenty of time to turn things around. If they're overperforming, they'll turn into a pumpkin soon enough.
But these divisional games are spread across the entire season, and facing the Mariners, the team expected to win the West, these games matter. A winning record against Seattle could lead to a division title when all is said and done. These types of wins could also be handy in a potential tiebreaker scenario at the end of the season.
It's early, and we don't know how things will ultimately shake out. But beating the teams that are expected to be standing at the end is always a good idea.
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Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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