Conditions weren't right in Seattle. Smoke from nearby wildfires seeped through the enclosed T-Mobile Park roof to a point that manager Bob Melvin wondered an hour before first pitch if the day's doubleheader would be a go.
The games went on, though, and the Mariners took a 6-5 come-from-behind win from the A's in Game 1. They went on to beat the Mariners, 9-0, behind a Mike Minor gem.
The A's grim meltdown in the first game was practically impossible to see through the thick haze. A's outfielders donned masks to help mitigate their breathing on long runs through the grass. Jesus Luzardo, the A's starter for the first game, voiced his discomfort.
"When I came out (the AQI) was at 284," Luzardo said after the game. "I'm a healthy 22-year-old. I shouldn't be gasping for air, or missing oxygen when I'm getting to the line. I'll leave it at that."
That Luzardo felt it necessary to voice his discomfort should ring loud. The A's have played through smoke over the Oakland Coliseum as a result of Northern California wildfires. As it happened, they flew out of the frying pan and into more fire in the Pacific Northwest.
"It was pretty smoky out there," Melvin said after the second game. "And guys were starting to feel it in the second game some. I think the numbers were pretty high."
Here are some takeaways from the games.
