Mariners fall to Oakland Athletics 4-3

OAKLAND, Calif. — If only the Mariner Moose had finished the job, his ballclub might have gotten theirs done in this series.

It was three years ago last month that the Mariners team mascot, driving an all-terrain vehicle at Safeco Field, barely missed running over Coco Crisp, then of the Boston Red Sox and now residing here with the Oakland Athletics. But Crisp lived to enact some revenge, which he took this week by running right over the Mariners, sealing a 4-3 loss for Seattle on Wednesday night by driving in three runs.

Crisp isn't known as much of a power guy, but hit his second homer in three games this series, off Luke French in the third inning, to launch an Oakland comeback from a 3-0 deficit.

"He's done pretty well against me," French said. "It's just a matter of making pitches on him. He's a good hitter and he's not an easy out by any means."

Not this series he wasn't.

Crisp sent 15,180 fans at the Coliseum home happy by driving in the decisive sixth-inning run with a single through the right side after the Mariners failed to turn an inning-ending double play. Mariners shortstop Josh Wilson mishandled the transfer on the double-play attempt, got one out at second, but allowed the tying run to score when he dropped the ball before he could make a throw to first.

The base hit by Crisp came right after that. Seattle had opened the game with a two-run homer from Russell Branyan in the first inning and a solo shot by Matt Tuiasosopo in the second, both off Oakland starter Gio Gonzalez, to take a 3-0 lead.

But Branyan flied out with the bases loaded to end the second inning and Seattle managed just two hits the rest of the game. Gonzalez fanned Branyan with Chone Figgins at second base to end the seventh inning and the Mariners went six up, six down from there off Oakland's bullpen.

Crisp was 2 for 4 with the three runs batted in. He went 5 for 9 with two homers and seven RBI in the series and is 10 for 22 off Seattle pitching this season.

French wasn't in the game by the time Crisp hit the decisive single off Jamey Wright in the sixth. But Crisp was a major reason the night came undone for French in the third.

Crisp's home run was a line drive that landed in a picnic area beyond the left-field fence known as the BBQ Terrace. A lone fan, dressed head to toe in A's garb, took a flying leap off a picnic table in attempting to catch the scorcher.

Instead, he missed the ball completely and did a belly flop on to the concrete floor in full view of thousands of horrified — and some slightly amused — fans. But, after dusting himself off, the fan got up and walked away seemingly unharmed.

French wasn't nearly as fortunate. He survived jams with two runners on in the fourth and fifth innings, but his pitch count was soaring by the time Mark Ellis doubled off the wall to begin the sixth.

"It was one of those nights, it was a little tough," he said. "I obviously didn't feel like I had the best stuff and struggled a little bit. But I was able to make a few pitches here and there to get out of some jams."

And Wright nearly got him off the hook in that sixth until Wilson couldn't complete the double play. Wilson knew that the batter, Cliff Pennington, gets to first base really quick and he also had a hard slide into second by lead runner Steve Tolleson distracting him as he tried to transfer the ball to his throwing hand.

"He was coming in pretty quick, he was on me," Wilson said of Tolleson. "I think I tried to be too fast, too quick."

Crisp then capped the rally moments later with the kind of clutch hit the Mariners had needed far earlier in the game.

Seattle had plenty of big hits and smaller breaks in scoring seven runs to win the middle game of the series, but none after Tuiasosopo's homer in the second inning this time.

"I keep talking about a big hit that kind of puts the game away," Mariners manager Daren Brown said. "But we just didn't get it."

Crisp had the only big swings that mattered in this game. And throughout a three-game series in which — unlike the Mariner Moose — he seemed to hit everything in his path.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com.

Read his daily blog at www.seattletimes.com/Mariners