The Oakland Athletics had plenty of opportunities to take control of the game but they just couldn’t pull through when they needed to, falling to the Rangers 6-3 on Thursday at the Coliseum.
Oakland finished the game 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, while Texas were a respectable 3-for-5. That was the difference tonight, and it’s a bad habit the A’s just cannot seem to shake in recent seasons.
Daniel Mengden fell to 0-2 on the season after tonight’s loss. He pitched well at times, but his lack of command got him into trouble throughout the game and the Rangers capitalized. Mengden pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing five hits, three earned runs and striking out two.
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Mengden was hit in the foot by a line drive in the second inning and went on to allow four runs in the inning. He already had runners at the corners prior to being struck, but it certainly would have impacted his flow, somewhat.
Lefty Martin Perez earned a win in his season debut for the Rangers but wasn’t overly impressive. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits and three earned runs, with one strikeout. The A’s had no problem getting hits off Perez initially, but they just couldn’t string them together consistently in order to bring runners home.
Jed Lowrie was productive at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. Lowrie’s now sporting a .313 batting average this season and he’s going to be leaned on often throughout the season for offensive production. He can only do so much, though, and for the A’s to find success it’ll be on the likes of Khris Davis and Matt Olson to become more consistent in the middle of the lineup; both Davis and Olson were hit-less today.
Matt Chapman continued his hot start to the season, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. He’s now hitting .400 with two homers and five RBIs.
Today’s loss means the A’s split the four-game series with the Rangers. They’ll take the overall result, but they certainly had a great opportunity to take at least three of the four with more consistency on offense.
Up next:
The Athletics will head to Anaheim to begin a three-game set with the Angels. The A’s dropped 3-of-4 games to the Angels in their opening series at the Coliseum, but will be looking to bounce back on the road.
Next: A's claim OF Trayce Thompson off waivers
The A’s claimed outfielder Trayce Thompson off waivers from the New York Yankees earlier today and he’s set to join the team for the upcoming series against LA. Right-hander Paul Blackburn (forearm) was added to the 60-day disabled list to create space on the 40-man roster for Thompson. More info can be found below: