Major League Baseball
Oakland 2, Seattle 1
When: 4:10 PM ET, Sunday, April 10, 2016
Where: Safeco Field, Seattle, Washington
Temperature: 57°
Umpires: Home - Gerry Davis, 1B - Sam Holbrook, 2B - Rob Drake, 3B - Carlos Torres
Attendance: 30834

SEATTLE -- The Oakland Athletics survived another solid start from Seattle ace Felix Hernandez and got some unexpected power from an aging veteran to beat the Mariners 2-1 on Sunday afternoon.

Oakland's Coco Crisp hit his first home run in more than 19 months, sending a two-out solo shot into the right-field seats in the top of the 10th inning to help cap off a series sweep for the A's. The 36-year-old Crisp, whose last home run had come on Aug. 27, 2014, hit a 2-1 pitch over right fielder Nelson Cruz to break a 1-1 tie.

"I've hit a few of them in my career," Crisp said. "When you hit one, it always feels good to make solid contact."

Sean Doolittle came on in the bottom of the 10th inning and survived a leadoff double to earn his first save of the season.

Oakland (4-3) earned its first three-game sweep since June 2015 and went above .500 for the first time since April 14, 2015, when the A's were 5-4.

Oakland reliever John Axford (1-0) earned the win, while Seattle's Nick Vincent (1-1) suffered the loss after serving up the Crisp homer.

The Mariners (2-4) wasted a Cy Young-type outing from starter Felix Hernandez, who threw seven shutout innings while allowing just three hits and striking out 10. Hernandez left with a 1-0 lead after seven innings, then reliever Joel Peralta gave up a leadoff homer to the first batter he faced, A's shortstop Marcus Semien, in the eighth.

Semien's homer to left, which tied the score 1-1, was his sixth in 20 games played against Seattle over his career.

"(Hernandez) had a great outing today," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "I can't say enough about how he competed today."

Oakland starter Chris Bassitt nearly matched Hernandez for seven innings, allowing just one unearned run off three hits. He was not involved in the decision either, having given way to reliever Ryan Madson in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied 1-1.

"I really try to not make a big thing" out of facing Hernandez, Bassitt said. "If you try to out-do him, you're not going to do too well."

Both pitchers controlled the game for five scoreless innings, despite threats from both teams.

Hernandez ran into some control problems in the third inning, resulting in a pair of walks that helped to load the bases with two outs before he struck out A's designated hitter Stephen Vogt to get out of that jam.

Seattle's best chance came in the fourth, when three Bassitt walks loaded the bases with two outs before Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger grounded out to first to end the threat.

"We just didn't hit with guys in scoring position today," Servais said. "We've got to get better."

Seattle finally broke through in the sixth, scoring an unearned run when Oakland second baseman Jed Lowrie botched a ground ball with two outs and runners on the corners. Cruz came in from third base to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead.

Lowrie had three errors in the series.

The Mariners' first hit didn't come until there were two outs in the third inning. Bassitt issued a two-out walk in the first, then he retired six in a row before Nori Aoki's two-out double in the third put a Seattle runner in scoring position for the first time.

Oakland had runners in scoring position in the second and third innings but failed to get a run across. The A's went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position during those two innings and didn't have another at-bat with runners in scoring position the rest of the game.

The Semien and Crisp homers provided enough offense on a day when the Oakland bullpen was dominant again. The A's relievers allowed three hits over three scoreless innings.

"With this bullpen, it's a race to six (innings)," Bassitt said. "We have arms we didn't have last year. If it's bullpen versus bullpen, I really like our chances."

Seattle gave Oakland a brief scare in the bottom of the 10th, when third baseman Kyle Seager led off with a double. Second baseman Robinson Cano, who went hitless for the first time this season, struck out, and then Cruz flew out deep to left field. Doolittle struck out pinch hitter Dae-Ho Lee to finish off the win.

Crisp fell behind 0-1 before taking two pitches on Vincent in the top of the 10th. He drilled the 2-1 pitch high into the air, and Cruz had no chance to make a play on the ball that ended up in the seats for the game-winning homer.

"That (pitch) was a little bit up; it wasn't the best pitch in the world," Crisp said. "But I was able to make contact."

"He's a unique guy that can hit home runs from the leadoff spot and has a flare for the dramatic," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Crisp. "We're finally seeing him healthy and confident, and he had a big impact these last couple games."

NOTES: Since 2009, Hernandez has 90 starts of at least seven innings while allowing one run or fewer. Amazingly, he has just 62 wins in that span. The Mariners have lost 19 of those outings, while Hernandez has had to settle for 26 no-decisions and two losses. ... After Saturday night's win, Athletics LHP Rich Hill is now 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA in his career against Seattle. ... The Mariners' 0-3 start at home is a continuation of an issue that plagued the team throughout the 2015 season. Seattle had a 36-45 record at Safeco Field last season and is now 2-7 over its past two homestands dating back to the end of last season. ... Sunday's game wrapped up the three-game series. Seattle will host Texas in a three-game set that begins Monday. The A's return home for a six-date homestand that opens with the Angels.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Oakland   Seattle
Chris Bassitt Player Felix Hernandez
No Decision W/L No Decision
7.0 IP 7.0
4 Strikeouts 10
3 Hits 3
0.00 ERA 0.00
Hitting
Oakland   Seattle
Marcus Semien Player Nelson Cruz
1 Hits 2
1 RBI 0
1 HR 0
4 TB 3
.333 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Oakland 5 2 12 .143 11 12 2 3 0 1
Seattle 6 0 9 .167 17 7 0 5 0 0