Oakland wins 2-0
The Oakland A’s lineup hasn’t scored a lot of runs lately, but they didn’t need many on Sunday.
The pitching staff shut out the Texas Rangers, leading the A’s to a 2-0 victory in their series finale at the Coliseum. Oakland avoided a sweep at the hands of an AL West division rival, and clinched a winning homestand.
*** Click here to revisit today’s Game Thread! ***
Entering today, the A’s had only scored one run through the first two games of this series against the Rangers, and they’d only totaled 14 runs through six games at the Coliseum. That trend continued, as all they got in this contest was a two-run homer from Stephen Piscotty, but it turned out to be enough thanks to a brilliant pitching performance.
The strong pitching also continued a recent trend, as Oakland allowed just 17 runs themselves through those first six games at home. This time they got their best results yet, spinning their first shutout of the year and allowing just four hits and two walks along the way. Texas didn’t even reach third base until two outs in the 9th inning.
Shutout
What do you do when your team isn’t scoring many runs? Just allow zero to the opponent!
Starter Cole Irvin got things rolling, as the lefty was unhittable for five innings. His first batter of the game singled, and then that was it. He issued a couple walks, and there was a fielding error behind him to put a free runner on, but the Rangers only hit the ball hard twice against him and they never even reached second base.
- Irvin: 5 ip, 0 runs, 1 hit, 4 Ks, 2 BB, 87 pitches
It wasn’t a long outing, but it was a dominant one. In addition to inducing weak contact, he also earned a dozen swinging strikes, accounting for 14% of all his pitches.
The bullpen needed to cover four innings, and they did so in the blink of an eye. First up was Zach Jackson, who retired six straight batters to complete two perfect frames, including two strikeouts and only one hard-hit ball for a 110 mph lineout.
Next up was Kirby Snead, who needed only eight pitches to breeze through the 8th. He did allow a double, the first time Texas got to second base all day, and it was nearly a homer off the top of the short wall in left-center. However, on the very next pitch the southpaw stranded the runner.
By this point, the Rangers only had two hits, the single off Irvin in the 1st and the double off Snead in the 8th. Both were by superstar Marcus Semien, the East Bay hometown hero back for a visit with his new club.
The 9th inning went to Dany Jimenez, who has gotten most the save opportunities lately. He got the first two outs, then made things interesting with a pair of singles to put runners on the corners, then retired the final batter to seal the victory. But that description doesn’t do justice to the drama of the inning.
The first batter hit a routine grounder, and first baseman Christian Bethancourt dropped the throw but picked up the ball in time to get the out anyway. Whew! The next batter hit a fly 372 feet, but it hung up in a deep part of center field for an easy catch. Whew! Then came a sharp single, and then a blooper, and suddenly the go-ahead run was at the plate. The next batter pulled a liner to the right side, but Bethancourt knocked it down, collected the ball, and touched the bag for the final out. Whew!
It got dicey at the end, with the tying runs flashing before our eyes on that last line drive, but Jimenez, Bethancourt, and the A’s held on to complete their first shutout of the season.
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