SEATTLE — Consider Liam Hendriks entrenched in the closer’s role.
On the night he was named to his first All-Star team, Oakland called on him once again to seal a 5-2 win over the Mariners to open a three-game series in Seattle, earning Hendriks his fourth save since taking over for an injured Blake Treinen.
Brett Anderson followed up 7 2/3 shutout innings with another strong start, continuing to show the shellacking he took two starts ago was but a blip.
The veteran left-hander pitched into the seventh, allowing two runs on five hits. But he wasn’t in line for the win until the Mariners imploded defensively in the top half of the inning, when the A’s turned a 2-1 deficit into a decisive 3-2 lead.