 in the first, and Marcus Semien's solo homer in the second helped the A's carve out a 6-0 lead. Ramon Laureano added his 16th homer, off the left-field foul pole, in the eighth. The homers helped Oakland extend its team record to 145 home runs before the All-Star break. They have 24 during the 12-game span.The Mariners had been fairly effective using an opener until Sunday. The A's jumped on Carasiti from the start, dropping Seattle to 5-7 with an opener on the mound. Semien singled to start the game, Robbie Grossman drew a walk and Olson made it 3-0 before many fans were seated.After a strikeout, Carasiti gave up a double to Mark Canha and a single to Laureano, prompting manager Scott Servais to go to bulk-innings pitcher Wade LeBlanc earlier than planned.LeBlanc gave up a run-scoring single to Chad Pinder and left fielder Dylan Moore compounded the mistake by allowing the ball to skate past him to the warning track. Laureano turned that bungle into a run for the 5-0 lead.Carasiti had been sharp in the opener role in four previous appearances, allowing just five hits and one run. But on Sunday he gave up six hits and five runs - four earned - on 28 pitches, immediately taking the pressure off A's starter Daniel Mengden (4-1).Mengden was sharp against the Mariners, with the exception of Omar Narvaez. The catcher hit his 13th home run in the second and came up with run-scoring singles after leadoff doubles by Domingo Santana in the fourth and J. P. Crawford in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-3. Mengden allowed six hits and struck out six in 5 1/3 innings.Narvaez added his second solo shot in the eighth inning against reliever Joakim Soria to finish 4 for 4 with four RBIs. It was his first career multiple homer game and his 14 home runs are a team record for a catcher before the break.TRAINER'S ROOMThe Mariners got good news when reliever Dan Altavilla's MRI showed a flexor strain in his right elbow and no ligament damage. Altavilla felt pain in his forearm near his elbow during a relief appearance Friday night and feared a UCL injury. He'll still be out for several weeks, manager Scott Servais said. ... Mariners RF Mitch Haniger will not travel with the team after the All-Star break as he continues to recover from testicle surgery. Servais said Haniger will remain shut down until a scheduled doctor's visit next week. Haniger was sent home from the team's last road trip when he pushed his rehab too quickly. Servais has no timetable for the 2018 All-Star's return.MOUND MOVESMariners reliever Sam Tuivailala pitched a scoreless inning of relief in back-to-back appearances Friday and Saturday at Double-A Arkansas and could rejoin the team after the All-Star break. Tuivailala is working his way back from muscle soreness that shut down his rehabilitation from Achilles surgery.''He's moving in the right direction, which is great,'' Servais said. ''There's opportunity with the injuries as well. We want to get him back in the fold and see what he looks like.'' Servais believes closer Hunter Strickland is a few weeks away from his return from a lat strain. Strickland threw a successful 20-pitch bullpen session Saturday. Servais says he'll travel with the team to Los Angeles where he'll throw another bullpen session, then live batting practice before a minor league rehab assignment. ... Felix Hernandez (lat strain) will throw from the mound when the team returns from the break for the first time since shutting down his rehab two weeks ago due to muscle fatigue.UP NEXTAthletics: Oakland has yet to name its starting pitcher for Friday's home game against the Chicago White Sox.Mariners: Mike Leake (7-7, 4.32 ERA) will take the mound Friday when Seattle travels to the Los Angeles Angels.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
'Opener' no relief for Mariners' LeBlanc, who faces A's nextFLMAsked recently if he was getting used to coming in after his team used a reliever as an "opener," Seattle Mariners left-hander Wade LeBlanc had a blunt reply."No," he told The Seattle Times. "I mean, I've done it in the past, so I'm already used to it. But it is what it is. You've got to get outs whenever they are. If they give me the ball, I've got to get outs with it." LeBlanc (5-2, 5.02 ERA) will reprise that role Sunday afternoon when the Mariners play host to the Oakland Athletics in their final game before the All-Star break. The A's are scheduled to start right-hander Daniel Mengden (3-1, 4.67).For the most part, LeBlanc has pitched well in those situations. In six appearances in "relief," the veteran is 3-0 with a 3.31 ERA.His one bad outing came against the A's on June 15 in Oakland. LeBlanc was forced to enter with two outs in the first inning after right-hander Gerson Bautista had already allowed three runs.LeBlanc didn't fare much better, allowing six runs on nine hits in 2 2/3 innings of an 11-2 loss."If they are looking for what I'm throwing and I'm not making an adjustment, that's embarrassing," LeBlanc said after that game. "They were probably sitting on soft stuff. And I didn't adjust. It's all on me." Added Mariners manager Scott Servais: "The opener, still believe in it. It just didn't work out for us tonight." LeBlanc is 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA in nine career appearances against the A's, including six starts. But he's struggled this season, going 0-1 with an 11.74 ERA in two games against them.Mengden has won his past two starts for Oakland, pitching six scoreless innings in a 2-0 victory June 26 at St. Louis. He allowed five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings Tuesday at home against Minnesota in a game the A's won 8-6.Catcher Chris Herrmann, who played for the Mariners last season, made his regular-season debut for the A's in that game, hitting a grand slam."When you hit a home run, period, let alone a grand slam, it makes you feel like you belong pretty quickly with the team," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "It was nice to get him off to a good start." Mengden is 0-2 with a 5.24 ERA in five career appearances against the Mariners, with four starts. He didn't get a decision when he faced them May 24 in Seattle, a 6-2 Oakland victory, allowing one run on five hits in four innings with five walks and four strikeouts.The Mariners and A's have split the first two games of the series, with Oakland winning 5-2 Friday before the Mariners took a 6-3 decision Saturday.Left-hander Marco Gonzales pitched eight strong innings for the Mariners to get his 10th victory of the season, and All-Star Daniel Vogelbach and Kyle Seager hit two-run homers."Seems like we've played that game against (Gonzales), where we've had him on the ropes early in the game and he's limited the damage and ended up going seven or eight innings," Melvin said. "You've got to give him some credit. He settles in and pitches well." --Field Level Media
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