Athletics 8, Rangers 7
ARLINGTON, Texas, Sep 14 — Despite a very good effort, the Texas Rangers lost to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday evening by a final score of 8–7. Mark Mathias hit a home run in the bottom of the second inning to keep the Rangers’ spirits high, but it wasn’t enough. It was the third home run in the last 24 hours for Mathias. With this loss to the Athletics in the books, the Rangers now head to St. Peterburg, Florida to begin a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Friday evening at 6:10 PM Central. Martin Perez (11–6, 2.77 ERA) will get the start for the Rangers. Meanwhile, former Ranger Corey Kluber (10–8, 4.36 ERA) will take the mound for Tampa Bay.
Mathias’ Big Night
It was another big night for Rangers third baseman Mark Mathias on Wednesday. With the home-nine trailing 1–0 in the bottom of the second inning, Mathias stepped up to the plate. He then proceeded to tie the game 1–1 on a solo home run to left field. For Mathias, it was his sixth home run of the year. It was also his third home run in the last 24 hours. It also marked the first time that a Ranger hit home runs in three consecutive plate appearances since Rougned Odor did it on May 16, and 17 of 2019 at Globe Life Park.
The home run parade would continue for the Rangers later in the same inning. With Jonah Heim, and Nick Solak on base, Marcus Semien stepped in and basted a three-run homer to left-center field. This gave the Rangers a 4–1 lead. Mathias drove in another run in the person of Nathaniel Lowe with a single to make it 5–1 in the bottom of the third inning. Then in the bottom of the fifth inning, everyone in the ballpark suddenly felt the urge to check their watches as “Heim Time” approached. With Adolis Garcia on base, catcher Jonah Heim stepped to the plate and launched a two-run homer to right-center field. The Rangers lead was now 7–4.
Athletics Claw Back
Even though they trailed for most of the game, the A’s managed to get on the board first. In the top of the second inning, Athletics second baseman Dermis Garcia hit a solo home run to left field. It was his fourth of the season. Oakland wouldn’t score again until the top of the fifth inning. Right-fielder Seth Brown hit his 22nd home run of the year to cut the Rangers’ lead to 5–3.
Moments later, Oakland third baseman Vimael Machin made it 5–4 with a double that drove in Ramon Laureano. The Athletics scored their sixth run of the evening on a solo home run to right field by Tony Kemp in the top of the sixth inning. This marked the sixth home run of the season for Kemp. In the top of the ninth inning, the Athletics tied the game 7–7 on a double by Machin that drove in Sheldon Neuse. The winning run would come for them moments later on a fielding error that drove in the aforementioned Machin. This was a tough loss for the Rangers, as they had very good momentum heading into that last inning.
Pitching Notes
Dane Dunning got the start for the Rangers on Wednesday. He retired the first two batters that he faced in the fifth inning. Dunning was one out from qualifying for a victory, holding a 5–1 lead, then ended his outing with the following sequence against his final four batters he faced: BB-HR-2B-2B. He took the no-decision in his outing. Right-hander Jose Leclerc took the loss. He is now 0–3, with an ERA of 3.16 on the season. Tyler Cyr got the winning decision for the Athletics. His record for the 2022 season now sits at 1–0, with an ERA of 2.57. This was his first career major league win. Domingo Acevedo recorded the save for Oakland. It was his first of the year.
Additional Notes
This was the Rangers’ 32nd one-run loss, setting new Texas record for most one-run losses in a season. They are 13–32 in those situations. They have lost ten games in which they led after seven innings. Athletics starter JP Sears has gone winless in his last four starts after going 2–0 in his first three starts with the A’s. Jonah Heim’s home run in the fifth inning was his first home run since August 3 against the Baltimore Orioles.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Mark Mathias, Martin Perez, Corey Kluber, Rougned Odor, Jonah Heim, Nick Solak, Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe, Adolis Garcia, Dermis Garcia, Seth Brown, Vimael Machin, Ramon Laureano, Tony Kemp, Sheldon Neuse, Dane Dunning, Jose Leclerc, Tyler Cyr, Domingo Acevedo, JP Sears
