OAKLAND -- They have relievers stacked a mile high, enough to crowd the colossal Coliseum, and the A's had to use most of them after inverting their pitching plan Saturday.
But opening the game with a reliever -- the just-recalled Liam Hendriks -- in front of originally scheduled starter Daniel Mengden proved disastrous for these A's, their 14-man bullpen torn apart in an 8-7 loss to the Mariners.
Using an Oakland-record nine pitchers in as many innings and falling just short of a comeback, the A's experiment cost them in the standings; an Astros win over the Angels yet again distanced the A's 2 1/2 games from first place, while their lead over the Mariners for the second American League Wild Card spot slipped to 4 1/2 games.