SEATTLE –- Ryan Madson got the save Friday night for the A’s, and perhaps that creates the meatiest storyline involving the bullpen.
However, to focus on any one individual reliever who shined in Oakland’s 3-2 victory over the Mariners is to miss the point. The A’s wouldn’t have claimed the opener of this three-game series without the collective efforts of every pitcher who trotted in from beyond the left field fence at Safeco Field.
Madson nailed things down in the ninth, and he now has saved both of the A’s wins. But it was Sean Doolittle who took down the heart of Seattle’s order in the eighth after issuing a leadoff walk.