Oakland Athletics clinch series-opener against Texas Rangers, 7-2: MLB Update
The Oakland Athletics romped to a 7-2 victory in the first outing against the Texas Rangers at the Rangers Ballpark on Monday night, May 9, to take 1-0 lead in a three-game series.
The A’s Josh Willingham hammered a huge three-run homer off the Rangers' starter, Christopher John Wilson, in third to provide early 3-0 lead. The Rangers' starter, Trevor Cahill, on the other hand, held the Rangers hitless in his first four innings.
The 24-year-old rookie pitcher gave his first run on the very first pitch he tossed in fifth to the Rangers' slugger, Mitch Moreland, who launched it for a one-run homer and trimming the lead 1-3. It was the only run Trevor consumed on five hits while he walked one, took out seven batters over seven innings to remain unbeaten and now has a 6-0 record with 1.72 ERA.
Wilson, on the other hand, after giving early homer, struck back and did not consume any run until the eighth inning, when he tossed some wobbly pitches to give an RBI double to Willingham. Despite being costly, Wilson was brilliant as he allowed just two hits over seven innings. However, he could gather just two strike-outs and lost his second game of the season.
After Willingham led off the eighth with a RBI double, Kurt Suzuki added another double and Mark Ellis hit a sacrifice fly to take his team to 7-1 in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, the Rangers’ Michael Young strived hard to trim the lead but could manage just one RBI single to take his club 2-7.
The Athletics’ closer, Craig Breslow, pitched a perfect ninth without giving the opposition any chance to take the game away from his team. The relievers, Jerry Blevins gave one run while Brad Ziegler did not allow any run over 2/3 innings.
The Rangers’ reliever Ryan Tucker pitched less than an inning, gave two runs over two hits, and allowed two walks while failed to make any strikeout. Closer, Brett Tomko, however, threw excellent pitches and allowed just one walk without any hit over two innings, but he did not receive any support from the batters.
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