The Oakland A’s continued their winning ways in a game that was not necessarily a given to be played.
On a day where the NBA, WNBA and the Brewers versus Reds mutually postponed their games, the Oakland A’s continued their series at Globe Life Field on Wednesday evening with a 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers.
There were some questions before the contest surrounding whether or not the A’s would play. Khris Davis and Marcus Semien did not warm up on the field with the rest of the team, but every Oakland player was on the field for the National Anthem.
Both Tony Kemp and Davis began the season by kneeling during the national anthem. Even after social justice issues have continued to be a talking point among professional athletes, Kemp and Davis only stood with their hands behind their backs during the anthem.
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Once the game began, it was all Oakland in a bit of an odd game. The Rangers got one run on an error by Sean Murphy in the third inning, but after that the A’s would score three unanswered runs en route to a 3-1 victory.
Mike Fiers started the game for the A’s and was magnificent. The veteran righty provided six innings without giving up an earned run, struck out seven, and gave the A’s bullpen some much needed rest.
Stephen Piscotty continued on his hot streak in the sixth inning with an RBI single that added on to his hot month of August so far.
Piscotty’s 26 RBIs in August are the most in the month by an A’s player since Eric Chavez had 30 in 2002.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 27, 2020
Ramon Laureano followed up the RBI single by scoring on a wild pitch and the A’s took a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish.
Robbie Grossman drove in the final run for Oakland with a hit by pitch in the eighth that scored Piscotty.
The Oakland A’s bullpen again provided shut down relief work to seal the game in the late innings. Jake Diekman, Joakim Soria, and Liam Hendriks all contributed one scoreless inning to close out the divisional contest.
With the A’s dominating the AL West, Oakland will look to close out a successful series against Texas on Thursday. Chris Bassitt will take the hill for the Athletics as they will try and extend their 4.5 game lead over the Astros in the West.