SEATTLE (AP) — Julio Rodríguez homered on Frankie Montas’ first pitch and drove in both runs, Robbie Ray struck out a season-high 12 and the Seattle Mariners beat Oakland 2-1 on Sunday to deal the Athletics their 25th loss in 31 games.
Ray (7-6) combined with Andrés Muñoz and Paul Sewald on a four-hitter and to strike out 16 batters. The A’s are last in the major leagues with a .211 batting average and have the worst record in the big leagues at 26-55.
“Keep riding the Robbie Ray train is what we will continue to do because he’s really good and it’s fun to watch,” a smiling Seattle manager Scott Servais said.
Ray reached 1,400 strikeouts by fanning Ramón Laureano and Christian Bethancourt back-to-back in the third inning and reached double digits for the fourth time this season. It was the left-hander’s fifth straight quality start, helping the Mariners to their fifth win in six games and their 10th in the last 13.
He allowed a seventh-inning homer by Elvis Andrus on his 107th and final pitch, which stopped Ray’s 18-inning scoreless streak. The 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner added a two-seam fastball after he struggled early this season.
“That’s helped out a ton,” Ray said. “I think, for me, the two-seam has been a very crucial pitch. It’s not only been a good pitch, but it’s made my other pitches better, and I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Rodríguez’s home run on a sinker was the 12th first-pitch homer in Mariners history — nine were by Ichiro Suzuki. The rookie danced into the batters box in his second at-bat.
“If I was 21 and I was hitting .280, I’d be dancing in the batter’s box, too,” Servais said. “I have no idea what that feels like. I’m really happy for him and it rubs off on the rest of our team.”
Montas…