Mariners on verge of AL West lead after Emerson Hancock's gem vs. Athletics

Adam Jude, The Seattle Times on May 27, 2026

Published in Baseball

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WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Emerson Hancock’s breakthrough season carried on Tuesday night, and he’s carried the Mariners to the brink of a first-place standing for the first time this season.

In his latest gem, Hancock allowed only one hit over six dominant innings, leading the Mariners to a 4-1 victory and a series win over the AL West-leading Athletics before a crowd of 9,539 at Sutter Health Park.

José A. Ferrer, Gabe Speier and Andrés Muñoz closed it out over the final three innings as the Mariners (27-29) moved a half-game back of the A’s (27-28).

Logan Gilbert will take the mound for the Mariners on Wednesday afternoon to try close out a series sweep.

Hancock was perfect through four innings, extending a rock-solid start to the season that could have him in consideration soon for his first All-Star selection.

He allowed his first runner on a leadoff walk in the fifth inning, then surrendered his first hit on a Tyler Soderstrom single. Hancock rebounded by retiring the next three hitters.

He stranded two more runners in the sixth inning to complete his seventh quality start of the season and lower his ERA to 2.78 on the season.

Coming into Tuesday, the Mariners ranked dead last among MLB teams in batting average (.190) and OPS (.594) as a team with a wRC+ of 76 (meaning they’re 24% worse than the league average).

So pronounced are the Mariners’ struggles against left-handed pitching that the A’s made two strategic moves Tuesday, calling up one of their top prospects, 23-year-old lefty Gage Jump, to make his major-league debut on Tuesday night.

The A’s also pushed back a start for veteran right-hander Luis Severino by at least two days, putting veteran lefty Jeffrey Springs in position to start Wednesday’s series finale.

The Mariners’ much-maligned right-handed lineup broke through Tuesday, finishing with 11 hits and jumped on Jump for three runs in the second inning.

Mitch Garver started it with an RBI double into the left-field corner to drive in Josh Naylor.

Cole Young followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Rob Refsnyder, and J.P. Crawford added a sac fly later in the inning to drive in Garver and extend the M’s lead to 3-0.

Soderstrom’s one-out home run off Muñoz ended the Mariners’ shutout bid in the ninth inning.