OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Lewis homered and made a diving catch in center field, Yusei Kikuchi pitched six smooth innings before his back cramped up, and the Seattle Mariners ended a six-game losing streak by beating the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Monday night.
Jarred Kelenic also went deep for Seattle, playing its sixth of 12 straight road games in California covering separate trips. And this is a long haul for the club, with Monday marking the fourth game of a stretch with 30 in 31 days.
Ty France doubled in his return from the injured list. Mitch Haniger added two hits, including an RBI double.
“It was cool for us to have a good day, go out there and hit a couple balls hard,” Lewis said. “Hopefully we get some momentum and see what we can do.”
Mark Canha hit his 10th home run for Oakland.
Lewis struck out swinging in his first at-bat before hitting a two-out drive to left field off starter Frankie Montas in the third.
“He got all of that one,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “That’s vintage Kyle Lewis. You usually don’t see him hit that far to the pull side.”
The reigning AL Rookie of the Year also robbed Chad Pinder of extra bases with a diving grab in right-center in the bottom of the inning.
Kikuchi (2-3) scattered four hits and allowed one run — Canha’s homer in the third. The lefty didn’t permit another runner past first base but paused when Jed Lowrie reached on an infield single leading off the seventh.
Kikuchi grabbed at his lower back as Servais went to the mound followed by a team trainer and translator, and was escorted off the field.
“My last few pitches my back started to cramp up pretty good,” Kikuchi said through a translator. “I had an experience very similar to this in Japan before. That led…
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