SEATTLE 3
OAKLAND 2
OAKLAND, Calif. 鈥� Mike Zunino tried making adjustments when he went into a batting slump.
When that didn鈥檛 work, the Seattle Mariners catcher went back to what just felt natural, and so far that鈥檚 paid off.
Zunino had two key hits and Ketel Marte hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning as the Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 Sunday for their fifth straight win.
The Mariners remained 3 1/2 games behind in the AL wild-card race.
Marte had three hits and Zunino homered and doubled.
鈥淚 tried to make some little tweaks to try to improve on what I was doing and they sort of took me in the wrong direction, so it was just sort of going back to what was working the whole year,鈥� Zunino said.
鈥淚t was nice, because when you have so many at-bats and taken that swing so many times it was pretty easy to go back to it,鈥� he said.
Zunino doubled off Ryan Madson (5-5) to begin the ninth and pinch runner Ben Gamel moved up on a single by Leonys Martin. Marte followed with his go-ahead single.
鈥淲e had a decent report on him saying the first pitch is usually the best pitch to get, so I didn鈥檛 want to waste any time,鈥� Zunino said. 鈥淚 was able to get on top of it and drive it.鈥�
Mariners starter James Paxton pitched through a fingernail injury for his first quality start in more than a month, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks in six innings.
The left-hander couldn鈥檛 throw his cut fastball and didn鈥檛 have good command of his fastball because of a problem with the nail on his left middle finger.
鈥淲e worked around it well, though,鈥� Paxton said of the injury. 鈥淲e used the curveball more, and the curveball was really good today, so that was good. And we used the change-up a little bit more too, got some swings and misses on that also.鈥�
Zunino hit a two-run homer in the second off rookie Raul Alcantara. He left with two outs in the sixth to an ovation from fans and was greeted by fist bumps in the A鈥檚 dugout.
鈥淚t was just another at-bat where I felt like I got to two strikes pretty quick, but he showed me the slider early and I was able to lay off of it, and he threw another one that was in the zone and up. I was just able to get up in the zone and barrel it.鈥�
In his major league debut Wednesday, he became the first A鈥檚 pitcher to hit three batters and issue a balk in one game since Howard Ehmke did it in 1930.
Alcantara allowed two runs on seven hits, one walk and a hit batsman.
鈥淗e has an electric fastball, his changeup is a plus pitch and he threw some good breaking balls, too,鈥� A鈥檚 catcher Stephen Vogt said. 鈥淚 think the stuff is really, really good, it鈥檚 definitely an indication of what we thought and what I thought going into this week it would be.鈥�
Steve Cishek (3-6) pitched a scoreless eighth. Edwin Diaz closed for his 15th save.
TRAINER鈥橲 ROOM
Mariners: 1B Adam Lind left the in the fifth inning with a finger sprain, manager Scott Servais said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not broke,鈥� Servais said. 鈥淗e had X-rays. He could be out a couple days and we鈥檒l see where it goes from there.鈥�
Athletics: RHP Sonny Gray, on the disabled list since Aug. 7 with a right forearm strain, threw about 10-12 pitches off a mound on Sunday, A鈥檚 manager Bob Melvin said. The 2015 All-Star is hoping to be activated before the end of the year, but Melvin said the A鈥檚 will be cautious before making such a move.
鈥淚t鈥檇 be nice to get him into a game, but I wouldn鈥檛 say it鈥檚 the most important thing in the world,鈥� Melvin said. 鈥淗is health is the most important thing for us.鈥�
UP NEXT
Mariners: LHP Ariel Miranda will pitch the opener of a three-game series in Anaheim. He will be facing the Angels for the third time in his eighth appearance and seventh start with Seattle since being acquired from Baltimore on July 31. Miranda is 1-0 with a 5.73 ERA in two previous outings against the Angels.
Athletics: LHP Ross Detwiler will be making his sixth start since being called up from Triple-A Nashville on Aug. 10 in a series opener in Kansas City. He allowed one run in seven innings of three-hit ball in his last start on Aug. 31.
