Athletics 7, Rangers 2
ARLINGTON, Texas, Aug 17 —The Texas Rangers had a very sluggish approach on Wednesday evening at Globe Life Field, as they lost to the Oakland Athletics by a final score of 7–2. One highlight for the Rangers was an RBI double by Adolis Garcia in the bottom of the first inning. Earlier in the day, the Rangers made the announcement that they had parted ways with President of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels, so the day was off to a strange start hours before the game began. The fourth, and final game of this series is on Thursday afternoon at 1:05 PM Central. Left-hander Zach Logue (3–6, 5.49 ERA) will start the game for the Athletics. The Rangers will send right-hander Dane Dunning (2–6, 4.12 ERA) to the mound in the finale on Thursday.
Athletics’ Offense
In the third at-bat of the game, Oakland catcher Sean Murphy blasted a solo home run. This gave the Athletics a very early 1–0 lead. The next spark of their offense came in the top of the fourth inning, and once again it was Murphy who provided it. With Rangers starter Cole Ragans still in the game, Murphy slugged his second home run of the evening. This one was of the two-run variety, and it gave the Athletics a 3–1 lead. First baseman David MacKinnon was the runner on base at that point in time. Murphy also scored their fourth run of the game in the top of the eighth inning. He was able to cross the plate on a double by left-fielder Chad Pinder.
The A’s made it 5–1 later in the inning on a single by Vimael Machin, and it allowed Pinder to score. The Rangers’ sluggish play continued late in eighth inning, as once again they fell victim to the long ball. Oakland DH Shea Langeliers sent his first home run of the year into the right-field seats to give the A’s a 7–1 lead.
Rangers’ Sluggish Offense
The Rangers had a very sluggish approach at the plate on Wednesday evening. They only pushed two runs across the plate. The first of those runs came in the bottom of the first inning. An RBI double by outfielder Adolis Garcia allowed Corey Seager to score. The second run came eight innings later in the bottom of the ninth inning. The newly acquired Mark Mathias hit a double to left field. Rangers catcher Meibrys Viloria was able to cross home on the extra base hit. The Rangers are definitely missing the home run ball, as it has been several nights since they’ve hit one.
Pitching Notes
Rangers right-hander Cole Ragans took his second loss in three career major league starts (he is now 0–2, with an ERA of 5.02)) after he allowed three runs, all earned, over five innings. All three runs came via a pair of home runs by A’s catcher Sean Murphy in the first and fourth innings. Ragans has surrendered four home runs over his last two outings. He held the other eight Oakland batters 2-for-17 with a walk.
Ragans did not record a strikeout until he fanned three straight batters in the fourth and fifth innings (Brown-Neuse-Langeliers). Adam Oller got the win for the Athletics. He pitched six innings. Oller allowed one earned run on five hits. He walked one, and struck out four. His record for the 2022 season now sits at 2–5, with an ERA of 6.63. There was no save recorded in this game.
Miscellaneous Notes
Nathaniel Lowe (0-for-4) had his 22-game on-base streak snapped on Wednesday. It was the longest such streak by a Ranger this season. Bubba Thompson is a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts to open his major league career. Sean Murphy’s eight career home runs at Globe Life Field are seventh-most in facility history (regular or postseason), and the most by any player to never suit up for the Rangers. Mark Mathias, who was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday, made his Texas debut as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning (RBI double).
Adolis Garcia plated the Rangers’ first run of the evening on an RBI double in the first inning. This extended his career-best hit streak to 14 consecutive games at .327 (18-for-55). The 14-game run is major league baseball’s longest active hit streak, and the longest by a Ranger in the last four seasons (the last was 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.
Main Photo:
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Players Mentioned:
Adolis Garcia, Zach Logue, Dane Dunning, Sean Murphy, Cole Ragans, David MacKinnon, Chad Pinder, Vimael Machin, Corey Seager, Mark Mathias, Meibrys Viloria, Adam Oller, Nathaniel Lowe, Bubba Thompson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nomar Mazara, Shea Langeliers
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