A’s lose 5-4 in Seattle as Naylor walks it off after Kurtz ties it

The Athletics jumped out early Wednesday afternoon, lost the lead, rallied to tie it in the ninth, and still left Seattle without a sweep.

The A’s scored twice in the first, pulled even on Nick Kurtz’s game-tying homer in the ninth, then got walked off in a 5-4 loss to the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Josh Naylor’s two-out RBI single off Joel Kuhnel ended it after the Athletics had fought back one last time.

It was a frustrating finish to an otherwise strong trip. The A’s had already locked up the series, but they were one out away from carrying a tie game into extras before Seattle found the final hit.

The fast start slipped away

The Athletics came out sharp and grabbed control right away. Kurtz opened the game with a walk, Shea Langeliers followed with a single, and Tyler Soderstrom brought home the first run with a sacrifice fly. Jeff McNeil then added a two-out RBI single, and the A’s had a 2-0 lead before Seattle came to bat.

The Mariners answered in the bottom half when Randy Arozarena’s sacrifice fly cut the lead to 2-1. Oakland pushed it back to 3-1 in the third after Carlos Cortes singled and Jacob Wilson lined an RBI double to left.

That could have been a bigger inning, but the A’s left two more runners on base. That kept Seattle close, and the Mariners stayed there most of the afternoon.

Seattle kept pressing

Aaron Civale gave the Athletics a workable start, but Seattle kept finding small openings. Cal Raleigh led off the third with a solo homer, and that trimmed the lead to 3-2.

The game finally turned in the sixth. Josh Naylor singled, Mitch Garver doubled off Brady Basso after Civale exited, and Rob Refsnyder lifted a sacrifice fly to center that tied it at 3-3.

An inning later, the Mariners moved in front for the first time. J.P. Crawford singled, Raleigh doubled him to third, and Julio Rodríguez brought home the go-ahead run with a groundout.

Kurtz tied it, then Seattle answered

For a while, that looked like it might hold. Matt Brash and Cooper Criswell combined to quiet the A’s through the seventh and eighth, while Justin Sterner worked a clean eighth to keep the deficit at one.

Then Kurtz changed the game again in the ninth. After Austin Wynns lined out, he drove a solo homer to center off Andrés Muñoz to tie it at 4-4.