Donovan Walton delivered the biggest swing of the night in the 10th inning, crushing a walk-off two-run homer that lifted the Athletics past the Seattle Mariners 6-5 on Friday night in West Sacramento, Calif.
The A’s got plenty from Lawrence Butler, who went 3 for 5 with a two-run homer in the third inning and a double in the ninth. Jeff McNeil also kept the offense moving, reaching base three times with two hits, an RBI and two runs scored.
Seattle briefly grabbed the upper hand in extra innings when Julio Rodríguez lined an RBI single in the 10th to put the Mariners ahead 5-4. Walton answered immediately against Eduard Bazardo (3-4), ending it with one swing.
The Mariners had already clawed all the way back from a two-run deficit in the sixth. Josh Naylor reached on a fielding error by reliever Scott Blewett, and on the next at-bat Lázaro Montes launched a 430-foot homer over the right-center wall to tie the game at 4-4.
Butler had been stuck in a 0-for-16 stretch before breaking through with his two-run shot on a full count in the third, giving the Athletics a 4-2 lead.
Seattle opened the scoring in the first when Cal Raleigh drove in a run with a base hit. The A’s answered right away: Henry Bolte singled, stole second, and McNeil brought him home with a double to right-center to tie it 1-1. McNeil later scored from third on a throwing error to first base by Cole Young.
Naylor finished with two hits, a steal and two runs scored for Seattle.
The teams meet again Saturday in the second game of the weekend series, with Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (11-9, 4.03 ERA) set to face Athletics left-hander Gage Jump (6-10, 5.12).
In Other News...
Mariners Now Have A First Base Problem They Can't Easily Fix
Josh Naylor gave the Mariners exactly the kind of early jolt they hoped for after joining Seattle, putting together a strong start and piling up hits. But as the season has worn on, the bigger picture has become harder to ignore. He leads the club in hits with 142 through Sept. 11, yet most of those have come as singles, and the lack of damage has left his slugging percentage at .359.
For a team that needs more from the middle of its lineup, that creates a real problem at first base. Naylors power production has faded badly in the 2026 season, with just 10 home runs in 137 games, and the Mariners are left trying to reconcile what they expected from the spot with what they have actually gotten. It complicates both the offense and whatever they had in mind for the position beyond this year. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners May Need A New Manager For One Frustrating Reason
Dan Wilsons first full season in the dugout has given the Mariners a familiar kind of frustration, the sort that invites a bigger conversation about direction rather than just one bad night. His hands-off style has been part of the discussion from the start, along with the way he has managed the bullpen and handled player accountability, and those choices have left some wondering whether the club is getting enough in-game edge when the margins get tight.
Nothing has been decided, and there is no official change on the horizon, but the possibility of a reset is hard to ignore when a season starts feeling like a referendum. If Seattle does move on, the next manager will likely need to bring a firmer strategic presence and a clearer command of the game, because the Mariners seem to be weighing not just results, but whether the current approach is the right fit for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Trade With Rays Just Got Tougher To Defend
The deal that sent Randy Arozarena to Seattle looked cleaner for the Mariners when it was built around long-term upside, but Tampa Bay keeps finding ways to make its side of the trade look smart, too. Brody Hopkins is now being called up and added to the Rays 40-man roster after a role change from starter to reliever turned his season around, a reminder of how often Tampa squeezes value out of pitchers other clubs might have given up on.
Hopkins has flashed a fastball that has touched 102 mph, and the results in relief have been much better than what he showed as a starter, with his ERA and WHIP both moving in the right direction. For Seattle, Arozarena has been a productive bat since arriving, but the bigger picture still tilts toward Tampa Bay, which has already locked up a playoff berth while the Mariners have spent the year fighting for ground in the standings. [Read more 🡒]