The Athletics spent most of Friday night digging out of a hole they made for themselves, and by the time the comeback finally showed up, it was too late. Texas beat the A’s 8-5 in the middle game of the three-game set, inching closer to a sweep while the Green and Gold were left to sort through the same old mess: shaky pitching and wasted chances with runners in scoring position.
Oakland’s offense never quite found the big swing when it needed one. The A’s went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14 runners overall, a number that tells the story just as loudly as the final score.
Texas set the tone early against A’s opener Brady Basso. Corey Seager and Brandon Nimmo each doubled in the first inning, and the Rangers were on top 1-0 before the game had even settled in.
Basso’s night didn’t last long. His outing ended after Seager picked up a second double in the third, and Scott Blewett came on in relief with one out and one aboard.
The A’s did briefly claw level in the third. Zack Gelof reached second on an infield single and a throwing error by the Rangers third baseman, then Lawrence Butler brought him home with an RBI single to center.
But the inning got away from them from there. With the bases loaded, Jeff McNeil lifted a fly ball to center to end the threat.
Texas answered right back. Nimmo drove in a run with a two-out single to put the Rangers back in front 2-1, and the A’s never fully recovered. Ezequiel Duran also made his presence felt on defense in the fourth, diving to take away a hit from Bolte and end the inning.
Blewett’s trouble came to a head in the fifth. After he allowed a single and a walk to open the frame, Luis Medina inherited the mess and found it even worse: the first batter he faced singled, loading the bases with nobody out.
Nimmo kept rolling with another seeing-eye single that drove in two runs. Butler had another rough moment in right field as he bobbled the ball before making the throw home, and Texas kept piling on.
Duran later added an RBI groundout to make it 5-1.
Basso’s final line was followed by another difficult stretch for the A’s bullpen. José Suarez was tagged for three runs on four hits in the sixth, and Nimmo kept adding to his big night with his fourth hit and fifth RBI. That pushed the Rangers’ lead to 8-1.
The A’s did keep swinging. In the seventh, Michael Stefanic singled in a run off Rangers left-hander Adam Macko, trimming the deficit to 8-2.
Stefanic made the most of his night, finishing with two hits and two walks. Butler then added to his own line in the eighth with a sacrifice fly, his second RBI of the game, after Oakland loaded the bases yet again.
The ninth inning brought the loudest crack of the night for the visitors. McNeil launched his seventh homer of the season, a two-run shot to right-center that cut the Rangers’ lead to three and forced Texas to turn to closer Jacob Latz to finish it off. Latz handled the final two outs without trouble.
There was at least one clean line in the pitching column for Oakland: Yunior Tur. The rookie reliever was the only A’s pitcher not to allow a run, throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The night also included an early exit for Tommy White, who hurt himself on a swing in the second inning and left with low back soreness. Michael Stefanic replaced him.
The series now shifts to the finale, with the A’s trying to avoid a second straight sweep. Left-hander Jacob Lopez will start for Oakland, and the Rangers will counter with left-hander Cody Bradford.
In Other News...
As Outfield Just Got A September Question Fans Will Watch
September roster expansion gives the Athletics a little more room to sort out the final month, and two names are expected to be part of that shuffle. Clarke, whose glove has long stood out in center field, has been building momentum in rehab after a season interrupted by injuries and offensive struggles, while Tur has already gotten a taste of the majors this year and profiles as bullpen depth.
For Oakland, the intrigue is less about the extra bodies than how they fit. Clarke could give the club a steadier option up the middle and open the door to shifting Bolte into a corner spot, a move that would reshape the outfield alignment as the season winds down. Tur, meanwhile, would help cover innings in relief, giving the staff another arm to lean on as the calendar turns and decisions start to carry more weight. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics May Have Found The Bullpen Answer They Desperately Needed
The Athletics have spent much of the season trying to piece together a bullpen that never quite settled in, a problem made worse by injuries and uneven performance and by the loss of key additions like Mark Leiter Jr. and Scott Barlow. In that scramble, the club turned to Scott Blewett, the right-hander brought over from the Cardinals, and he has already given Oakland a reason to think it may have found a useful late-inning arm at a time when it badly needed one.
Blewetts early work as a reliever has stood out enough to matter for a club still trying to stabilize the back end of games around Elvis Alvarado, who is expected to remain the closer the rest of the season. The bigger question now is whether Blewett can keep holding his own in the highest-leverage spots, because for an Athletics team that has searched all year for answers, one solid option can change the look of a bullpen in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics Skid Is Putting Mark Kotsay Under Real Pressure
The Athletics recent slide has sharpened the focus on the day-to-day management that comes with a team trying to steady itself in a rough stretch. Offense has been a problem, pitching has been a problem, and when losses start stacking up, the scrutiny naturally lands on Mark Kotsay and the choices that have helped shape them. With the roster still searching for a spark, the pressure is not just about results but about whether the right arms are being put in the right spots at the right time.
Upcoming games only add to the urgency, especially with the rotation still being arranged around what the club needs to survive the next series. Some pitchers have to rebound quickly, and the bullpen cannot keep absorbing every mistake if Oakland wants any chance of turning this around. For Kotsay, the next few decisions will matter almost as much as the next few scores. [Read more 🡒]