Post-Game Notes: Athletics 7, Rangers 2
TEXAS has been outscored 5-13 thru the first 3 games of this 4-game set (1-2), needing a win tomorrow to salvage a series split…has gone 3-3 on this 7-day, 7-game homestand vs. SEA (2-1) and OAK (1-2), seeking 1st winning homestand since 6/21-26 vs. PHI/WAS (3-2)…still own a 9-7 record against the A’s this season and has won 13 of last 22 G vs. OAK dating back to 2021…has hit just 2 HR in first 6 G of this homestand.
COLE RAGANS took his 2nd loss in 3 career MLB starts (now 0-2) after he allowed 3 runs (all earned) over 5.0 innings tonight…all 3 runs came via a pair of home runs by A’s catcher Sean Murphy in the 1st (solo) and 4th (2-run) innings, as Ragans has surrendered 4 HR over his last 2 outings…held the other 8 Oakland batters 2-for-17 with a walk…did not record a strikeout until fanning 3 straight batters in the 4th and 5th (Brown-Neuse-Langeliers).
ADOLIS GARCÍA plated the Rangers’ 1st run of the evening on an RBI double in the 1st inning, extending his career-best hit streak to 14 consecutive games at .327 (18-55)…the 14-game run is MLB’s longest active hit streak and the longest by a Ranger in the last 4 seasons (also Isiah Kiner-Falefa from 8/28-9/11/20)…García has plated 11 RBI over the course of the streak, and his 74 RBI this season are the most by a Texas batter thru 117 team games since Nomar Mazara in 2017 (also 73)…Mazara finished with 101 RBI that season, the last 100+ RBI season by a Ranger.
COREY SEAGER went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, the only Ranger to notch multiple hits tonight, after entering the day in an 0-for-last-8 slump…despite the recent dip, Seager is still batting .266 (17-64) with an .800 OPS figure this month and owns a .307/.390/.599/.989 (42-137) slash line over his last 36 G (beg. 7/4)…after finishing with more walks (11) than strikeouts (9) in July, Seager has nearly as many walks (7) as strikeouts (11) in August…18 BB/20 SO over last 2 months/39 games.
OAKLAND improved to 43-75, and 7-9 vs TEX this season…have won 2 in a row for the first time since 8/3-8/4 at LAA…have won 4 of last 6 G vs. TEX and are looking for their 7th road series victory (6-12-1) with a win tomorrow afternoon.
ADAM OLLER tossed his first career quality start after going 6.0 IP with 5 H ,1 ER, 1 BB, and 4 SO…came into the game with a 7.26 ERA, the highest in the American League and third highest in the Majors among pitchers with 40 or more innings pitched… is now 2-5, 6.63 (40 ER/54.1 IP) on the year…retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced with the last two coming via strikeout.
SEAN MURPHY played a part in 4 of Oakland’s 7 runs scored in the game as he notched his second-career multi-HR game and first since 9/10/19 at HOU…his 3 home runs against TEX this season are tied with CLE for the most against any team this year…in his career he has 10 home runs against the Rangers, most against any team he has faced…finished the game 3-for-5 with 2 HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, his fourth 3-hit game this season…on the current road trip (3 at HOU, 3 at TEX) Murphy is 8-19 (.421) with 3 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, and 4 BB.
SHEA LANGELIERS hit his first career home run, a 2-run shot, as part of a 4-run 8th inning for the A’s…the Keller High and Baylor U product finished the game 1-for-4 with a HR and 2 RBI.
MISCELLANEOUS: Nathaniel Lowe (0-4) had his 22-game on-base streak snapped tonight, the longest such streak by a Ranger this season…Bubba Thompson is perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts to open his MLB career…Sean Murphy’s 8 career home runs at Globe Life Field are 7th-most in in facility history (reg. or postseason), and the most by any player to never suit up for the Rangers…Mark Mathias, who was recalled from Round Rock (AAA) on Tuesday, made his Texas debut as a pinch-hitter in the 9th inning (RBI double).
