Oakland Athletics succumb to Texas Rangers 1-6 – MLB Recap
The Oakland Athletics lost to the Texas Rangers in the first game of their two-match regular series encounter on Tuesday, July 17 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland.
Athletics came into this series with sheer confidence but as soon as they started the game, they realised that Rangers are a better team than the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins’ lost three straight games to the A’s in the first series of the second half of the regular season.
On Tuesday, the A’s played poorly and lost in the end. They did not show any fighting spirit and could match the Rangers’ brilliance.
"You have to stick with guys," Manager Bob Melvin said. "We've been pretty good offensively even though some guys have been struggling. When guys aren't hitting you expect the rest of the lineup to be able to pick you up."
Starter Bartolo Colon received four runs and four earned runs. He was also smashed with eight hits and a homer. Colon who has a tremendous amount of Major League experience could not show his true class and lost the game for the Athletics.
Though he retired five batters but at the same time he could not control his rising 3.88 ERA which certainly proved one of the losing factors in the A’s defeat.
On the other hand, Rangers played combined and slowly marched towards victory.
Starter Roy Oswalt played tremendously and gave only one run and one earned run on three hits. He remained calm on the mound for 6.1 innings as he retired six batters as well.
It was a tremendous result for 34-year-old Oswalt as now he stands comfortable with a 1.67 WHIP.
"That's me, that's my game," Oswalt said. "I'm the same pitcher I've been the last 12 years." I'm getting close. I feel better, The hitters have 300 at-bats behind them and have seen a lot of pitchers, and I'm trying to get up to speed."
Meanwhile, this is a healthy sign that the Rangers are picking up the pace. They had a good first half but their management wants to have an even better second half which will give them a smooth run into the post-season.
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