OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - After a mostly solid outing in his Oakland debut, Homer Bailey stood in front of his locker and grinned as a chorus boos from his new teammates broke out when a member of the media relations staffed turned down the volume on the postgame music blaring through the Athletics clubhouse.
“I like this team more every minute,” Bailey said.
The A’s are pretty happy, too.
Bailey shook off a rocky start to go six innings, Mark Canha and Jurickson Profar both homered twice and the A’s beat the Seattle Mariners 10-2 on Wednesday.
Chad Pinder and Ramón Laureano also went deep as the A’s matched their season high with six home runs despite losing Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman to an ankle injury after two innings.
“They got some hits off him early in the game but then (he) shut it down when he needed to,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said of Bailey. “I thought it was a really good start for him. It’s still kind of early for me watching him but I thought he was effective today and he threw strikes.”
Bailey (8-6) allowed seven hits and two runs for his fourth consecutive win and first since being acquired from Kansas City over the weekend to add depth and experience to Oakland’s lineup for a possible playoff run. Bailey struck out six, including cleanup hitter Omar Narváez twice, and didn’t walk a batter.
The 33-year-old hadn’t pitched since July 4 because of the All-Star break and the trade on Sunday when he was notified of the deal while warming up in the bullpen. It showed early as Bailey had to work around a leadoff double by Mallex Smith in the first then gave up two runs in the second before settling in.
“I was a little rusty early and then was able to find that tempo, find where I wanted to be,” Bailey said. “The way that this team fights for nine innings is outstanding. If I can keep it close they’re going to score runs and play great defense.”
The A’s backed their new starting pitcher with plenty of power.
Canha hit a go-ahead home run in the fourth off Tommy Milone (1-4) then added another solo drive in the sixth. It’s the first multi-homer game of Canha’s career.
Profar hit a pair of two-run home runs, in the second and eighth.
Pinder added a three-run shot in the sixth, and Laureano homered in the eighth.
The A’s have homered in a season-high 17 consecutive games.
“It’s kind of contagious,” Canha said. “We’re feeding off each other really well right now, and that’s what we do. That’s part of our strength as a team.”
Oakland has won six straight and 12 of 14.
Tim Beckham had two hits for Seattle. The Mariners have lost six straight.
“Rough road trip for us,” manager Scott Servais said. “Really didn’t do much at all offensively to put up any big numbers at all.”
Milone followed opener Erik Swanson and allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Chapman left the game after two innings because of left ankle soreness and is day to day. Chapman appeared to get spiked near his ankle by Pinder on Tuesday while both were chasing a fly ball but Melvin said the issue has been lingering.
“Today it was to the point where we didn’t want to run him out there for the full game,” Melvin said.
SLICK DEFENSE
Pinder made a diving catch in left field to rob J.P. Crawford of a hit in the first. Laureano added a defensive gem in the eighth when he made a catch at the wall in center field to take a hit away from Beckham.
TRAINERS ROOM
Mariners: Mitch Haniger, out since June 7 because of a ruptured testicle, has been cleared to begin baseball activities slowly. He will play some catch and hit off a tee but Seattle isn’t rushing Haniger’s recovery. “He’s feeling pain certain days so we’ve got to be careful how fast we go,” manager Scott Servais said. “He can’t do a whole lot of heavy lifting. He’s got to be really careful. That’s a serious injury.”
Athletics: OF Stephen Piscotty (sprained right knee) did some running drills before the game. Piscotty will continue to work out in Oakland and is expected to join the team in Houston before possibly beginning a rehab assignment.
UP NEXT
Mariners: RHP Mike Leake (7-8, 4.60 ERA) makes his second straight start against the Angels on Friday in Seattle. Leake was knocked around the first time for seven runs (four earned) and retired only two batters on July 12.
Athletics: RHP Mike Fiers (9-3, 3.61) has won seven consecutive decisions dating to his no-hitter against Cincinnati on May 7. Fiers pitches against Minnesota on Thursday in the opener of a seven-game road trip.
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