OAKLAND – There have been eight no-hitters pitched in the A’s 57-year history in Oakland. Wednesday night, Joey Estes came nine outs away from adding another – and perhaps the franchise’s last – on its way out of town.
Estes, making just his eighth career appearance, was perfect against the American West-leading Seattle Mariners until J.P. Crawford lined his first pitch of the seventh inning off the center field wall for a double. Four relievers, including closer Mason Miller getting a five-out save, helped preserve the A’s 2-1 victory before an announced crowd of 9,735 on dollar hot dog night at the Coliseum.
Fans gave the 22-year-old right-hander a healthy ovation after his bid to pitch the A’s first no-hitter since Mike Fiers in May of 2019 was broken up by the Mariners’ leadoff man.
“You kind of know what’s happening, but nothing changes,” Estes said. “It’s the same game. I guess you kind of see it, but it’s not eating me up in my mind.”
It was the longest perfect game bid by an A’s rookie since Brett Anderson held the Angels without a runner for 6 2/3 innings on July 19, 2009.
Second baseman Zack Gelof continued to shake off his slow start by extending his hitting streak to six — and provide Estes and Co. the only runs they’d need — with a a home run in the bottom of the third off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert. It was Gelof’s fifth homer of the season, but the second in three games.
The A’s took a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning after Daz Cameron singled, went to third on an wild pickoff throw to first by Gilbert and then scored a couple pitches later on a passed ball.
That became a huge run when Mariners star center fielder Julio Rodriguez lined a full-count, 102.5 MPH fastball from Miller over the center field wall to lead off the top of the ninth. After a walk put the potential tying run on first, Miller struck out Ty France and then ended the game by getting Victor Robles to hit into a double play.
Estes joined the rebuilt A’s rotation in early May and in his first four starts was 1-1 with a 6.10 ERA. But the right-hander had held the Rays to two hits and one run in five innings in his previous start. Estes, who was acquired before the 2022 season in the Matt Olson deal with the Braves along with catcher Shea Langeliers, outfielder Cristian Pache and pitcher Ryan Cusick, was even better against the Mariners.
Estes needed just 70 pitches to get through the Mariners’ lineup unscathed twice before Crawford lined a first-pitch fastball beyond the reach of Cameron, the A’s right fielder, and off the base of the outfield wall.
“If that’s a little bit shorter of a pop fly, that’s an out,” Estes said. “But also he could’ve gotten it and it could have went even further, so it’s just one of those things where you’ve just got to trust your pitches. I can only control what happens after I throw the ball.”
Estes retired the next batter, Josh Rojas, but then was removed by manager Mark Kotsay after throwing just 78 pitches to have Austin Adams face Rodriguez.
“He’s such a competitor,” Kotsay said of Estes. “In that situation it’s tough to go get the ball from him, but Julio had squared up a ball to center in his second at-bat. There is no sense leaving him in and having him have a chance to not get a win. With the way Adam is going, I felt really good about it.”
Adams walked Rodriguez on six pitches and hit France with a pitch to load the bases with two outs, but T.J. McFarland got Mitch Garver to ground out to shortstop Max Schuemann on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat and keep the Mariners scoreless.
In the end, Estes allowed just the one hit and struck out five in 6 ⅓ innings, lowering his ERA to 4.67. It was the third time in five starts this season he didn’t allow a walk.
Estes struck out five of the first nine batters he faced and the Mariners didn’t put a ball in play solidly until Cal Raleigh lined out sharply to center fielder JJ Bleday for the first out in the fifth inning.
The perfect-game bid was tested again one batter later, when France hit a chopper in front of the plate that Langeliers grabbed and then fired to first for the second out. With one out in the sixth, first baseman J.D. Davis made a diving stop of Dominic Canzone’s sharp grounder and flipped to Estes, who beat the Mariners right fielder to the base.
Kotsay said Estes’ performance — and potential career path — remind him of Tim Hudson, one of Oakland’s famed Big Three starters in the early 2000s.
“That literally was on my mind tonight watching him go out and pitch,” Kotsay said. “The way he was pitching, the aggressiveness of his fastball, attacking hitters. Huddy was that style of a pitcher.”
— The A’s conclude the three-game against the Mariners on Thursday at 12:37p.m.
JP Sears, the only A’s starter who hasn’t missed a start dating to the start of last season, faces Bryan Woo.
With the A’s moving to Sacramento after this season, Woo, barring a trade or other transaction later in the season, will likely become the last Oakland-born pitcher to start at the Coliseum.
Staff writer Jon Becker contributed to this report.