Athletics Beat Rangers on Wednesday: GAME THREAD
The Texas Rangers play the third game of a four-game series with the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.
The game comes just a few hours after the Rangers fired team president Jon Daniels and installed general manager Chris Young as the overseer of all baseball operations. It’s a seismic shift for an organization that just two days prior fired manager Chris Woodward and installed third-base coach Tony Beasley as interim manager. The Rangers are 1-1 so far with Beasley in charge, as the Rangers beat the Athletics, 2-1, on Monday and fell, 5-1, on Tuesday.
The Athletics also made news on Wednesday, as they released veteran shortstop Elvis Andrus, who played for the Rangers for 12 seasons before he was traded to Oakland.
Scroll down to follow along with tonight’s game.
Oakland Athletics (42-75) at Texas Rangers (52-64)
Starting Pitchers
TEX: LHP Cole Ragans (0-1, 4.82)
Vs.
OAK: RHP Adam Oller (1-5, 7.26)
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Rangers Pre-Game Transactions:
- RHP Joe Barlow activated from the 15-day Injured List
- RHP Garrett Richards was designated for assignment
- LHP Matt Moore transferred from Paternity List to Bereavement List (note: this is reportedly a procedural move, per The Athletic. Moore’s wife and their baby are fine, but the team didn’t release further details).
- OF Kole Calhoun was sent to Round Rock (AAA) on an injury rehab assignment
Rangers Injury List:
OF Kole Calhoun (10-day, right heel irritation), placed on Aug. 4 (retroactive to Aug. 3), eligible to come off Aug. 13. Calhoun is on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Round Rock.
P Jon Gray (15-day, left oblique strain), placed on Aug. 2. He is eligible to return, but his recovery was expected to take 4-6 weeks.
P Dennis Santana (15-day, left ankle sprain), placed on Aug. 4 (retroactive to Aug. 3). Eligible to be activated on Aug. 18.
P Spencer Howard (15-day, right shoulder impingement), placed on Aug. 10 (retroactive to Aug. 8), eligible to be activated on Aug. 23.
OF Eli White (60-day, right wrist fracture), placed on June 13. He has missed 57 games but he is expected to return at some point this season.
C Mitch Garver (60-day, right forearm flexor tendon repair surgery), placed on July 11. He is not expected to return this season.
Follow the Game
TV
Rangers - Bally Sports Southwest
Athletics - NBCSCA
Radio/Internet
Rangers - KRLD 1080, KFLC 1270, 105.3 The Fan
Athletics - A's Cast, Bloomberg 960 AM
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Texas Rangers Starting Lineup
1. 2B Marcus Semien
2. SS Corey Seager
3. 1B Nathaniel Lowe
4. RF Adolis García
5. C Meibrys Viloria
6. CF Leody Taveras
7. DH Brad Miller
8. 3B Josh Smith
9. LF Bubba Thompson
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Oakland Athletics Starting Lineup
1. SS Nick Allen
2. 1B David MacKinnon
3. C Sean Murphy
4. LF Chad Pinder
5. 1B Jonah Bride
6. RF Seth Brown
7. 3B Sheldon Neuse
8. DH Shea Langeliers
9. CF Skye Bolt
Top of First
Cole Ragans (TEX) pitching
SS Nick Allen led off by popping out to Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien in the outfield grass. 1B David MacKinnon grounded out to Rangers third baseman Josh Smith. C Sean Murphy then hit his 15th home run of the season to give Oakland an early lead. It was his third home run in the last 14 games. LF Chad Pinder grounded out to Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. Athletics 1, Rangers 0
Bottom of First
Adam Oller (OAK) pitching
Semien grounded down the first-base line and it remained fair, which allowed MacKinnon to force him out. Seager then singled to give the Rangers their first baserunner. First baseman Nathaniel Lowe flew out to Pinder in left field. RF Adolis García was at the plate as Seager advanced to second on a wild pitch by Oller. García hit a screaming RBI double down the left-field line to score Seager and tie the game. Viloria hit a tapper to Oller, who tossed it to MacKinnon to end the inning with the game tied. Athletics 1, Rangers 1
Top of Second
1B Jonah Bride popped out to Lowe at first. Then, RF Seth Brown hit a line shot to Lowe, which he handled. 3B Sheldon Neuse — who was called up on Wednesday after the Athletics released former Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus — flew out to Rangers CF Leody Taveras. Athletics 1, Rangers 1
Bottom of Second
Taveras walked, followed by DH Brad Miller popping out to Bride at second base. 3B Josh Smith flew out to Athletics center fielder Skye Bolt. LF Bubba Thompson put down a bunt down the third-base side toward Oller and was able to run out the throw. Oller's throw got past first base and Taveras took third. With runners at the corners, Semien watched as Thompson stole second. Then, Semien struck out to strand two runners. Athletics 1, Rangers 1
Top of Third
DH Shea Langeliers led off with a groundout to Smith at third. CF Skye Bolt flew out to Taveras at center. Allen then grounded out to Seager at short. With that, Ragans had retired seven straight since giving up the home run. Athletics 1, Rangers 1
Bottom of Third
Seager popped out to Bride at second to start the inning. Lowe put together a long at-bat, fouling off several pitches before striking out. García grounded out to shortstop to end the inning. Athletics 1, Rangers 1
Top of Fourth
MacKinnon led off by drawing a walk and then Murphy deposited a two-run home run into the Rangers' bullpen in right-center field. Bride popped out to Smith at third base, and Ragans struck out Brown, the left-hander's first strikeout of the game. Neuse then struck out. Athletics 3, Rangers 1
Bottom of Fourth
Viloria led off by grounding out to shortstop. Taveras singled to right field. Miller then grounded into a 3-6-3 double play to end the inning. Athletics 3, Rangers 1
Top of Fifth
Langeliers struck out to start the inning. Bolt followed with a single when Semien was unable to get the throw to Lowe in time. Plus, Lowe was unable to handle the throw. Allen grounded to Seager for a fielder's choice. He couldn't turn the double play after having trouble transferring the ball out of his glove, but he was able to force out Bolt. Allen advanced to second on a wild pitch, but MacKinnon popped out to end the inning. Athletics 3, Rangers 1
Bottom of Fifth
The Rangers went down in order, with Smith popping out to third, Thompson popping out to first and Semien flying out to center. Athletics 3, Rangers 1
Top of Sixth
Rangers pitching change: Joe Barlow in for Cole Ragans
Ragans pitching line: Five innings, four hits, three runs (earned), one walk, three strikeouts, 83 pitches, 56 strikes.
Barlow made his first appearance since his activation from the Injured List and faced Murphy, who had already homered twice. Murphy flew out to Taveras. Pinder grounded out to Barlow. He then hit Bride with a pitch and issued a walk to Brown, which prompted a mound visit. Neuse singled to Garcia in right field, and his throw into the infield was quick enough to keep Bride from trying to score. With the bases loaded, Langeliers came to the plate and Barlow struck him out. Athletics 3, Rangers 1
Bottom of Sixth
Seager singled to left and Lowe followed by lining out to shortstop. García hit a long deep fly ball to left that tailed foul at the end. It could have been a game-tying home run. García ended up striking out swinging. Viloria struck out looking to end the inning. Athletics 3, Rangers 1
Top of Seven
Rangers pitching change: John King in for Joe Barlow
Barlow pitching line: One inning, one hit, no runs, one walk, one strikeout, 21 pitches, 12 strikes.
King faced Bolt to lead off, and the Athletics outfielder grounded out to King. Allen then grounded out to Smith at third base. MacKinnon grounded out to Seager to end the inning. Athletics 3, Rangers 1
Bottom of Seventh
Athletics pitching change: Zach Jackson in for Adam Oller
Oller pitching line: Six innings, five hits, one run (earned), one walk, four strikeouts, 77 pitches, 49 strikes.
Taveras led off by grounding out to second base. Miller walked. Smith walked to put the tying run at first base. Thompson struck out, which brought up Semien. He flew out to Brown in right field to end the inning. Athletics 3, Rangers 1
Top of Eighth
King came out for a second inning and gave up a double to Murphy. Pinder then hit one to center field to Taveras, who was able to throw home to Viloria. He was able to tag out Murphy, but Viloria lost the ball and the run scored. Bride grounded out to keep Pinder at third (he advanced to third after the throw home). Brown struck out. Rangers manager Tony Beasley pulled King for Josh Sborz.
Rangers pitching change: Josh Sborz in for John King
Vimael Machin came into pinch-hit for Neuse. He hit a single to right and that scored Pinder. Langeliers then hit his first Major League home run. The Keller, Texas, native put two more runs on the board for the A's. Bolt followed that with a walk. Allen grounded out to Seager. Athletics 7, Rangers 1
King pitching line: 1 2/3 innings, two hits, two runs (earned), no walks, one strikeout, 19 pitches, 15 strikes.
Bottom of Eighth
Athletics pitching change: Kirby Snead in for Zach Jackson
Jackson pitching line: One inning, no hits, no runs, two walks, one strikeout, 19 pitches, seven strikes.
Seager led off with a ground out to first. Lowe followed with a weak grounder in front of the plate, and Murphy tagged him out after he grabbed the ball off the first-base line. With that Lowe's streak of 22 games of reaching base came to a likely end. Garcia grounded out to end the inning. Athletics 7, Rangers 1
Top of Ninth
Sborz returned to the mound. MacKinnon led off by striking out looking. Murphy then struck out swinging. Pinder hit a chopper up the middle to Seager for the final out. Athletics 7, Rangers 1
King pitching line: 1 1/3 innings, two hits, two runs (earned), one walk, two strikeouts, 24 pitches, 15 strikes.
Bottom of Ninth
Snead returned to the mound for Oakland. Viloria led off by drawing a walk. Taveras then drew a walk, which led to a mound visit and some action in the Athletics bullpen. Mark Mathais made his Rangers debut as a pinch-hitter. He was acquired in the Matt Bush trade before the deadline. He hit a line drive down the third-base for a double, scoring Viloria and moving Taveras to third. With that, the Athletics made a pitching change.
Athletics pitching change: Dany Jimemez in for Kirby Snead
The Rangers sent Ezequiel Duran to pinch-hit with no one out. He popped out in the infield for the first out. Thompson also popped out in the infield. Semien grounded out to short to end the game, though it took a great stretch by MacKinnon to record the final out. Final: Athletics 7, Rangers 2
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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