Pitching, Hitting Dominates As Rangers Thump A's, 8-1
The Texas Rangers defeated the Oakland Athletics on Friday by a score of 8-1, marking the first time this season the club has won back-to-back games. The Rangers have also now won three games in a row in Oakland.
The Rangers carried momentum from Thursday night's gutsy win over the Seattle Mariners into the early stages of Friday night as the Texas lineup batted around and put up five runs in the second inning. Adolis García led off the frame with a single then Nathaniel Lowe hit a line drive two-run homer to the opposite field, his first long ball of the season.
Lowe finished the night 2-for-3 with a homer and a walk. The 26-year-old has appeared in all 13 games this season, and is now slashing .412/.455/.529/.984 with the one home run and a team-leading nine RBI (tied with Jonah Heim).
Two batters later, Andy Ibáñez parked his first home run of the season over the left field wall. Then Willie Calhoun walked and Heim doubled to put runners on second and third with only one out. Brad Miller cued one down the line that stayed fair for an RBI infield single. Marcus Semien followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in the fifth and final run of the inning.
After the offensive explosion, the Oakland pitching staff had their way with the Texas lineup until the ninth inning, as 12 Rangers hitters were consecutively retired from the third to seventh innings.
Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
However, the Rangers pitching staff turned in its best performance of the season. Starter Glenn Otto, who was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock after Jon Gray went back on the Injured List, dominated the Oakland lineup early. In fact, Otto was perfect through 3 2/3 innings until Sean Murphy and Seth Brown hit back-to-back doubles that got the A's on the board.
Otto limited the damage to just one run in the fourth, then pitched an uneventful fifth inning. The doubles in the fourth inning were the only hits surrendered by Rangers pitching on Friday.
The trio of Matt Moore, John King and Garrett Richards locked down the A's the rest of the way, combining for four scoreless innings. Only two A's reached base over that stretch—both being walks issued by Moore, who pitched two of the four relief innings.
The Rangers offense added three more runs in the ninth inning to pull away for good. Jonah Heim and Corey Seager each had RBI singles and Semien scored on a wild pitch.
What's Next?
The Rangers (4-9) continue their three-game series with the Athletics (8-7) in Oakland on Saturday afternoon. Texas southpaw Martín Pérez (0-2, 6.75 ERA) is scheduled to face Oakland right-hander Frankie Montas (2-1, 3.63 ERA).
