The Athletics couldn’t manage to win back-to-back games. Tonight they lost to the division rival Texas Rangers 5-3 to put us back in the loss column. The club had a chance to put themselves in a position for their first sweep since early April with a win tonight but outside of a three-run home run the Athletics’ offense couldn’t muster much, wasting a solid outing from our best starting pitcher. And now the A’s are the sole owners of the worst record in the sport.
On the mound for Texas tonight was
left-hander MacKenzie Gore. A big offseason acquisition for the Rangers, Gore has been serviceable but not much more than that. The A’s were on him early. Leadoff man Henry Bolte collected a single on Gore’s second pitch of the night and Jonah Heim worked a walk but the A’s came away empty handed in the first.
They’d have more luck in the second. After Gore got the first two outs back-to-back singles brought Bolte back up to bat for the second time in as many innings. He collected his second hit and this one went a lot farther than his first inning single:
That’s #6 on the year for the rookie center fielder and he’d finish the night 3-for-5, falling a triple short of the cycle. He’s fully out of his slump now as he’s hitting .327 over his past 15 games.
Meanwhile on the mound for the A’s tonight was staff leader J.T. Ginn. Making his third start since returning from the IL Ginn was in control early. Through the first four innings he only allowed three singles. A double and a fourth single was enough for the Rangers to break through against him in the fifth but he was looking good.
Hindsight is 20/20 but that probably should have been it for the righty. Texas would put up a three-spot against Ginn in the sixth, courtesy of an RBI single and a two-run go-ahead home run from Wyatt Langford. He’d finish the frame but Ginn’s night was done after that as he ended the evening on a sour note.
- J.T. Ginn: 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 94 pitches
It was shaping up to be another quality start for Ginn but alas that final frame was evidently too much to ask for. He’ll look to keep his momentum going in next start. That’s likely coming next week on the road in Kansas City against the Royals. An excellent matchup for the right-hander, if you have him on your fantasy team.
While the A’s got that big hit from Bolte early, that ended up being all the damage the offense could manage tonight. Gore settled in and pitched into the sixth before making way for the Texas bullpen. The Rangers’ relievers were nearly perfect tonight as four arms combined for 3 1/3 shutout innings with just one walk allowed.
Texas would add on one more run in the top of the ninth for insurance but they didn’t need it. The A’s offense just didn’t have it tonight and once Texas took the lead that was it. 48-75. The worst record in the sport. Ginn was mostly good until Kotsay kept him in too long. Bolte is hitting well again. That’s about all the good from tonight’s contest. Hopefully the A’s can bounce back tomorrow and get a series win.
The series wraps tomorrow afternoon in the homestand finale. It’ll be a battle of left-handers as Jacob Lopez gets the ball for the Athletics while the Rangers will send Cody Bradford to the bump. Lopez is making the most of his second chance in the starting rotation, Over his past five starts he’s pitched 26 2/3 innings while allowing just seven earned runs, good for a 2.38 ERA during that span. The 28-year-old Bradford meanwhile only just returned from missing the past two years due to elbow surgery. Even with the long layoff though he’s looked good in two starts, pitching into the seventh last time out. Should be an interesting matchup between these two pitchers. Let’s see a series win to finish this homestand off.
