Oakland Athletics lose to Texas Rangers 3-4 – MLB Recap
The Oakland Athletics lost to Texas Rangers 3-4 in the second game of their four-match regular series encounter on Friday, June 29 at Rangers Ballpark.
Rangers played well and quite aggressive against the A’s top pitchers as they never gave them any chance to take control of the game. They not only hit in right areas but their batting line-up also played intelligently throughout the game and eventually won in style.
Though Oakland went early into lead in the fourth but soon the Rangers bounced back with four brisk runs and took the game away with a one run advantage.
Pinch-hitter Craig Gentry made three RBIs on his single at-bat and gave the Rangers go-ahead advantage late in the game.
"I knew I hit it decent, But to be honest, I thought he was going to catch it. They shut us down the whole game. We were able to get something going in the eighth inning." said Gentry,
Later Rangers' manager Ron Washington commented on Gentry and some other players’ contribution as he said, "We weren't hitting the ball that hard early, But we kept grinding and kept grinding. That's why you play nine innings. Mike Adams and Joe Nathan needed time down. They needed a break."
Not only the batters, the Rangers' pitchers especially Matt Harrison played tremendously well and earned a great win for his team.
He pitched eight solid innings and allowed only two runs and on eight hits. He also gave only two earned runs and struck-out seven batters as his ERA remained consistent at 3.16.
"I was fortunate to stay in there long enough to keep us in the game, I was excited. I can't imagine how Gentry was feeling." Harrison said.
On the other hand, the A’s starter A.J. Griffin and relief pitcher Jerry Blevins both did well on the mound.
However, closer Grant Balfour could not pitch well in his short spell of 0.2 innings as he received a bitter hammering of four runs and four earned runs which proved disastrous for the Athletics as they lost in the end with harsh humiliation.
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