Mason Miller dials up 104 mph as the Athletics win second straight series

The Oakland A's beat the Texas Rangers 1-0 this afternoon, carried by lefty JP Sears and closer Mason Miller. The A's have now won 4 of their last 6 games, bringing their record to 5-8.

They currently sit in 3rd place in the AL West, though their -22 run differential is good for 4th worst in MLB, and worst in the division.

The A's didn't need much offense today, however. Starter JP Sears led the way with 6.1 shutout innings, notching 5 strikeouts against 3 walks and allowing just one hit all afternoon.

Relievers Austin Adams and Lucas Erceg got the game to the 9th and Mason Miller came in to shut the Rangers down for good.

Miller was dialed in, hitting 104 mph on the radar gun with the fastball and getting the top of the Rangers lineup in order to wrap up the series.

All 9 of Miller's four-seamers clocked in at over 100 mph. He got Marcus Semien to strike out on three straight sliders, then whiffed Corey Seager with four straight fastballs before getting Wyatt Langford to pop out to second baseman Zack Gelof for his second save of the year.

Sears struggled in his first two starts lowered his ERA to 5.17 with today's effort. Given the fact that he pitched this well against the reigning World Series champs, it gives A's fans a little extra confidence boost that he's starting to turn things around.

Seth Brown finally contributes

The Athletics' lone run came on a Seth Brown homer in the top of the second. Brown also doubled in the top of the ninth, giving him his first two extra base hits of the year.

Brown has had a disappointing start to the season and even if today's effort doesn't convince us that he's heading in the right direction, it's still encouraging to see him finally contribute in a meaningful way for the first time in 2024.

Rangers starter Jon Gray pitched well today. He threw just 5 innings but notched 9 strikeouts to just one walk, and his lone run allowed came on the Brown home run. He allowed just three hits all day, giving up singles to Abraham Toro and Kyle McCann in addition to the homer.

McCann's single in the top of the third was his first major league hit. He's gotten just 7 plate appearances to this point, with Shea Langeliers earning the bulk of the playing time behind the plate.

The A's head back to Oakland for a six-game homestand starting tomorrow. They'll face off against the Nationals for three games this weekend before taking on the Cardinals early next week.

They have Paul Blackburn, Joe Boyle, and Alex Wood slated to start the next three matchups against Washington and have a great opportunity to take at least two of the next three games and keep themselves in the hunt in the early going.

The Nationals will start righty Jake Irvin tomorrow. He's struggled in his first two starts, allowing a combined 7 runs in 11 innings while striking out just under a batter per inning. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm PDT tomorrow.