SEATTLE -- James Paxton struck out a major league-high 16 in seven dominant innings, but the Seattle bullpen blew a late lead and the Oakland Athletics rallied past the Mariners 3-2 Wednesday night.
Paxton was overpowering in arguably the finest performance of his career, posting the highest strikeout total by a Seattle pitcher since Randy Johnson fanned 19 on Aug. 8, 1997. He got 14 A's on swinging strikeouts.
Paxton left with a 2-0 lead. Jed Lowrie hit a two-run homer off Juan Nicasio in the eighth inning, then Mark Canha opened the ninth with a home run against Edwin Diaz (0-1).