The Athletics matched a franchise record with four home runs in one inning Friday, then leaned on their bullpen to preserve a 7-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
Max Muncy, Alika Williams, Jeff McNeil and Zack Gelof all homered against Logan Gilbert during a five-run third inning. The outburst erased an early 2-0 deficit and gave the A’s a 5-2 lead.
Seattle answered immediately, tying the game in the bottom half. However, Gelof delivered the go-ahead triple in the fifth before Lawrence Butler added an RBI single.
The victory was the Athletics’ third straight, their first three-game winning streak since early June. They also took the first two games of the four-game series.
Four homers make history
Seattle scored twice against Kade Morris in the second before the Athletics produced one of the biggest innings in franchise history.
Muncy opened the third with his eighth homer, cutting the deficit to 2-1. After Donovan Walton struck out, Williams tied the game with his fourth homer.
Then Henry Bolte walked before McNeil launched a two-run homer to right. Gelof followed with his 17th homer, giving the A’s a 5-2 advantage.
The four home runs tied the Athletics record for homers in one inning.
Jason Giambi, Ernie Young, Jason McDonald and José Canseco first accomplished it against Boston on Aug. 21, 1997. Miguel Tejada, Eric Chavez, Giambi and John Jaha matched it against Tampa Bay on Aug. 1, 1999.
Then Scott Hatteberg, Terrence Long, Carlos Peña and Frank Menechino did it against the White Sox on April 27, 2002.
Friday marked the fourth four-homer inning in franchise history. It also was the first of those four instances in which all four homers came against the same pitcher.
The Athletics are now 4-0 in games featuring a four-homer inning.
Seattle answers, A’s respond
The lead did not last long.
Morris allowed a run on Julio Rodríguez’s groundout in the bottom of the third. Then Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer, tying the game at 5-5.
Morris exited after 2 2/3 innings. He allowed five runs on five hits with one walk and no strikeouts in his second major league start.
Still, the A’s regained control in the fifth. Williams walked, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Gelof then tripled him home for a 6-5 lead. Butler followed with a two-out RBI single to center, scoring Gelof and making it 7-5.
Gelof finished 2-for-5 with a homer, triple, two runs and two RBIs. Muncy went 3-for-4, while McNeil added two hits and two RBIs.
Bullpen makes it stand
Brady Basso replaced Morris in the third and stabilized the game. He worked three scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk to earn the victory.
Geoff Hartlieb followed with 1 1/3 hitless innings. Luis Medina then inherited runners at first and third with two outs in the seventh and escaped without allowing a run.
Seattle finally pulled within one against Elvis Alvarado in the eighth. Raleigh doubled and scored on Josh Naylor’s single, trimming the lead to 7-6.
However, Alvarado stranded the tying run. Hogan Harris followed with a scoreless ninth, working around a one-out walk to record his 15th save.
The win improved the Athletics to 56-86. They are 2½ games ahead of the Angels in the AL West and 1½ games ahead of Colorado in the overall standings.
Los Angeles, at 53-88, owns the worst record in the majors.
Up next
The series continues Saturday at T-Mobile Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. PT.
Jeffrey Springs is scheduled to start for the Athletics against Seattle right-hander George Kirby. Springs will try to end a stretch of 13 consecutive losing decisions after beginning the season 3-0.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
