A’s Fall In Series Opener To Rangers 7-2

Not a great way to start the Texas road trip

The Athletics dropped their series opener to the Texas Rangers on Monday evening in Arlington, falling to their division rivals by a 7-2 final.

On the mound for the A’s in this one was left-hander Jacob Lopez. The rookie entered tonight with a 4.20 ERA on the season, making 10 starts and looking impressive in his first real extended look in the big leagues. Making his first ever start against the Rangers, Lopez was looking good early on, allowing just one walk in the first two frames while collecting three strikeouts. He also got some major help from his new center fielder Lawrence Butler:

Losing rookie center fielder Denzel Clarke isn’t a great development for a young team like the A’s trying to foster growth in their prized prospects. Having Butler as a replacement will surely make his absence sting a lot less, as evidenced by Butler’s insane play in the outfield tonight. They’ll manage to weather Clarke’s stint on the IL but we all just hope it doesn’t last too long.

Texas got on the board first in this contest when Rangers third baseman Josh Jung got into a hanging slider from Lopez and sent it over the left center field wall to give his squad a 1-0 lead. That was the only hit that Lopez would allow through the first four innings tonight, but things would soon turn for the worse for the rookie pitcher.

1. Meanwhile for the Rangers they had their own rookie starter on the mound tonight as Jack Leiter got the ball for the 17th time this year. Facing the A’s for the first time this season, Leiter looked good early on, not allowing a hit his first time through the Athletics’ batting order. His second time through he was a bit more hittable for the A’s batters. A one-out double and walk brought up left fielder Tyler Soderstrom for his second plate appearance tonight and he made sure to cash in, tying this game up with an RBI single to right field:

It’s been an up-and-down season for Sodey but moments like these give hope that the former 1st-rounder can pick it up in the second half. Considering how hot he was at the plate at the start of the year it’s fair to wonder if the position change to left field is affecting him at all. Something to consider for fans and the coaching staff.

The Rangers got that run back and then lots more in the bottom of the fifth. Lopez finally got knocked around, allowing three hits and a walk that all came around to score, including the big 3-run homer that felt like a nail in the coffin for the A’s chances of a win tonight. Lopez managed to finish his night on a high note with a pair of strikeouts to end the frame, which ended up being his final one of the evening.

• Jacob Lopez: 5 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 HR, 93 pitches

A strange line from Lopez tonight. While he managed to keep the walks to a minimum, when he did give up contact it was loud. Add in some wildness from the rookie left-hander and you get five earned runs allowed. Not his best performance and not a great way to start his second half. He’ll hope for better results next time out. The schedule currently has him lined up to take on the Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon in Houston, which will be a big test for the rookie. He was strong in his lone start against the ‘stros earlier this year, firing off six innings of one-run ball back in June.

The game was quickly slipping away from the A’s and it seemed like it would just be a matter of time before this game mercifully ended. Before that could happen though, first baseman Nick Kurtz got into a ball for a solo homer in the sixth for the team’s second run, and Kurtz’ 19th big blast of the year:

Imagine what he’s going to be able to do over a full season next year, when he’ll have some experience under his belt. Kurtz is looking like he could be the team’s best first baseman since Jason Giambi, one of the team’s all-time greats, and could end up placing right up there with his teammate Jacob Wilson for ROTY honors.

The A’s would try one last comeback attempt in the seventh when the first two batters reached base, but Texas quickly pulled Leiter and let the bullpen shut down the rally. The Rangers meanwhile added on a pair of runs against rookie reliever Elvis Alvarado before Sean Newcomb and Mason Miller combined to finish off the pitching responsibilities for the A’s tonight. The bats went down quietly in the ninth, with this game ending on a Wilson pop out, ending his rare 0-for-5 day.

Not the way you want to kick off a series with a division rival. The A’s fall to 42-60 on the year, still locked into the second-worst record in the American League. The A’s rookie starter was a roller coaster for the team tonight, and it’s hard to win many games when you can only manage five hits. Butler and Wilson went a combined 0-for-10 at the top of the batting order while Kurtz was the only one with multiple hits (though both Shea Langeliers and Luis Urias drew a pair of walks each). Let’s hope they can right the ship tomorrow and even the series up.

The A’s also had an injury scare tonight when rookie infielder Max Muncy got plunked on the hand and was removed from the game. On the positive side it seems Muncy dodged a major injury to his hand:

Fingers crossed it’s nothing major, but it seems a bullet was dodged.

The A’s will turn to another rookie starting pitcher for the middle game tomorrow evening when right-hander JT Ginn gets the ball for his fifth start of the year. It’ll be his first start since all the way back in mid-May after he missed time due to injury. He’ll have a huge name on the opposing mound as Texas will counter Ginn with future Hall-of-Famer Jacob deGrom, who has looked more and more like his old, ace-like self this year as the season has worn on. A tough challenge for any pitcher, let alone a rookie. Anything can happen in baseball though!