Winning on getaway day sure beats the alternative.
The Texas Rangers know that feeling after scoring four runs in the ninth inning on Thursday to beat the Athletics 9-6 in West Sacramento, Calif.
The Rangers practically glided to Seattle, where they’ll meet their American League West rival, the Mariners, in a three-game series beginning Friday night.
It appeared the Rangers were going to lose Thursday after Nick Kurtz’s wind-aided double with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning fell in front of left fielder Wyatt Langford, clearing the bases and giving the A’s a one-run lead.
But the Rangers rallied in the ninth, with Joc Pederson’s RBI single and Ezequiel Duran’s two-run single as the key blows.
“I just think that they played nine innings no matter what,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “They play hard, and it doesn’t matter what the score is. There’s always a fighting chance. I’m just proud of these guys. They just never give up. It was pretty demoralizing, how that was going. It could have been a demoralizing flight, quite honestly. That’s not easy to do, so this is a much happier flight, for sure.”
Josh Jung, who went 3-for-5 with a double, homer and two RBIs, credited Langford, who took out his frustration between the eighth and ninth innings by lobbing some water jugs around the visiting dugout.
“He kind of did it for all of us, probably,” Jung said. “We were frustrated, but then we’re just laughing. It’s like one jug goes, and then the next goes, too.”
The Rangers and A’s split their four-game series to remain tied atop the AL West.
The Mariners, meanwhile, were swept in a three-game series in San Diego, losing 5-2 Thursday to drop to 1-8 on the road and into a tie with Houston in the division cellar. The Mariners also were swept in a three-game series early last week in Texas vs. the Rangers, having been outscored 8-3.
“We just need to continue to set the table,” Mariners star Julio Rodríguez said. “Somebody’s gonna eat at some point.”
Seattle is starving for its Nos. 2-4 hitters — Cal Raleigh, Rodriguez and Josh Naylor — to break out of their early season slumps. The trio has combined for a .162 batting average with five home runs and 24 RBIs.
“We play a really hard game. Sometimes we’re not gonna come through there. Sometimes you’re gonna come through,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like if you play good baseball you can win at home, on the road, everywhere.”
The series opener will feature a pair of ace right-handers in the Rangers’ Jacob deGrom (1-0, 2.87 ERA) and the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (1-2, 4.18).
DeGrom got his first victory of the season Sunday at the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, when he allowed one run on four hits over six innings, with three walks and nine strikeouts, in a 5-2 decision.
In his start previous to that, on April 6, he got a no-decision in a 2-1 victory against the Mariners. The only hit he allowed over five innings was a solo homer by Raleigh.
In eight career starts against Seattle, deGrom is 2-2 with a 3.26 ERA.
Gilbert is 5-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 17 career starts against Texas. He took the loss in that April 6 matchup with deGrom despite giving up just two runs in six innings.
Gilbert also is coming off his first victory of the season, defeating visiting Houston 6-1 Sunday when he allowed one run on four hits over seven innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
