OAKLAND — Generally, two runs doesn’t make a big inning. But in a game marked by tight margins, Rangers’ two-run lead seemed just enough to get the job done when they finished Friday night of the 10th pitch reached.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, the A’s responded with a big inning in the more conventional sense, beating the Rangers 9-7 in four runs. Losing at the Coliseum puts Texas 2-1 in extra-inning games.
“They fight hard there, just like us,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “You’ve got her on the ropes, you want to finish it. We couldn’t make it tonight.”
The little things quickly added up to a back and forth that saw a steady stream of lead changes as both teams missed the shutdown inning. Neither the Rangers nor the A’s led by more than a run at any point in the first nine innings.
The A’s came on the field first when Esteury Ruiz hit a leadoff home run (his first in the majors) in the first pitch he saw from Rangers starter Martín Pérez, but Ezequiel Duran tied the record with an RBI double early on of the second pitch. Oakland took the lead again in the second half, but Robbie Grossman equalized again in the third.
This cycle repeated itself, with the Rangers hitting a run per frame from the second through the sixth innings. Texas held a 5-4 lead by the end of the eighth, but saw Ruiz go down in the deciding run.
“I fought back and forth, just one of those games,” Bochy said. “Initially we just couldn’t get the big hit to put him out of reach. We kept going, we lacked that odd number and we had a few men on base there.”
There was little room for error throughout the evening and that made the missed chances even more painful.
Earlier in the day, Rangers led the majors with .918 OPS and runners in goal position. In such situations on Friday they had a record of 6 to 19, leaving 13 players on base.
Perhaps the biggest missed opportunity came in the eighth inning when the Rangers overloaded the bases with an out. A’s left-hander Sam Moll managed two quick outs to end the rally while Adolis García was still an option on the bench.
Bochy said he tried to stay away from García to give him a full day off, but ended up ending up with the hitting outfielder in the 10th inning. García delivered a pinch-hit RBI punch and Marcus Semien drove down an insurance run with a bloop single — but the pesky A’s refused to let up and Brent Rooker smashed a walk-off three-run shot to the left Brock Burke.
“We scored a few goals with runners in goal position,” Bochy said. “But once they were full, we just couldn’t get another goal.
“But if you score seven goals, you still take your chances. Pitching went a little bit today.”
Prior to Friday, Pérez was unbeaten in his last five starts, despite giving up a season-best seven heats on his last outing. He had another shaky performance on Friday, allowing four runs with eight hits and notching three walks for two.
“I missed a lot of throws,” said Pérez. “That’s when you get hit when you can’t find your pitches.”
Pérez gave up 11 home runs in 2022, a tie for the second fewest home runs allowed among qualified starters. In 2023, he has thrown eight throws in as many starts, including three solo throws for the A’s.
In last season’s career year, Pérez dominated the A’s, allowing just two runs over 20 innings in three starts, all at the Coliseum. He doubled that amount on Friday night.
Rangers are poised to put a frustrating evening behind them after emerging from a narrow majority game on the wrong side. After all, it might as well have gone the other way.
“We just have to come tomorrow and play better than them,” said Pérez, “because they played better than us today.”