Marcus Semien had four hits and drove in five runs, while the Texas Rangers had a massive second inning, scoring 10 times, leading to a 15-8 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.
Jonah Heim also contributed with four hits and two RBIs, helping Texas extend their winning streak to four games, where they’ve outscored their opponents 37-16.
“It was great to see our team break out like that,” manager Bruce Bochy commented. “Everyone was contributing in some way to score or drive in runs.” The Rangers had an impressive offensive display in the second inning, sending 16 batters to the plate, marking their biggest inning since May 23, 2015, against the New York Yankees.
“Momentum matters,” Semien remarked. “After a slow start yesterday, it felt good to come out strong today.” With 15 runs scored, the Rangers matched their season-high, and their 19 hits set a new record for the season.
“Scoring so many runs early in the game is beneficial for our pitching staff,” noted Heim. “It also helps our offense to stay focused and maintain good at-bats throughout the game.”
Kyle McCann and Seth Brown hit home runs for Oakland, but the team lost their third consecutive game after a six-game winning streak.
The attendance for the game was 3,965, a slight increase from the season-low 2,895 on Monday night. The A’s have announced plans to play in Sacramento for the next three seasons while a new stadium is being built in Las Vegas.
Marcus Semien hit a leadoff home run against Ross Stripling on the first pitch of the game, marking his third leadoff homer of the season and 27th of his career. He also contributed with an RBI single and a two-run double in the second inning.
Stripling had a tough outing, allowing a career-high 11 runs, with five earned, in just 1 2/3 innings. He gave up 10 hits and issued two walks.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay commented on the challenging strike zone, saying, “We had to lift the baseball. There wasn’t a bottom of the zone for Strip to pitch to.”
José Ureña made his first start of the season for Texas, allowing two runs, one earned, and four hits over five innings. Manager Bruce Bochy praised Ureña’s performance, noting that his stuff improved as the game progressed.
