Josh Jung had three hits and two RBIs, Dylan Moore hit a two-run homer and Wyatt Langford lined a solo blast to help the torrid Texas Rangers notch a 9-3 victory over the Athletics on Saturday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Adolis Garcia had three hits and scored twice as Texas totaled 17 hits and won its fourth straight game and seventh of its last eight. Kyle Higashioka and Michael Helman each contributed two hits and two RBIs while Langford had two hits and two runs.
Merrill Kelly (11-7) gave up three runs and six hits over 6 1/3 innings to improve to 2-1 in six starts since the Rangers acquired him from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander struck out two and walked none as Texas moved within 2 1/2 games of the Seattle Mariners for the third American League wild-card spot.
Brent Rooker homered among his three hits for the Athletics, who have lost consecutive games following a stellar 21-10 stretch.
Lawrence Butler also homered and Carlos Cortes had two hits and an RBI for the A’s, who played without slugger Nick Kurtz (oblique).
Mason Barnett of the Athletics was roughed up for five runs and eight hits in four-plus innings in his major league debut. He struck out one and walked none.
Texas struck for three runs off Barnett in the second inning.
Singles by Garcia and Jung put runners on the corners with one out before Higashioka delivered an RBI single to score Garcia. One out later, Helman smacked a two-run double to make it 3-0.
In the third, the Rangers had runners on the corners due to singles by Langford and Rowdy Tellez. Jung then hit an RBI double to make it 4-0.
The Athletics answered in the bottom of the inning as Butler hit a 448-foot blast to center with one out and Rooker deposited one 405 feet over the wall in left center with two outs to cut the Texas lead in half.
Langford hit the third pitch of the fifth inning over the fence in left with the ball glancing off the top of the wall on its way over to finish Barnett’s outing. In the bottom of the frame, left fielder Langford robbed Darell Hernaiz of at least extra bases if not a homer by snagging his drive with a leap at the wall.
In the sixth, Higashioka’s drive to left came up empty as Cortes leaped to rob him of a homer.
The Rangers tacked on two more runs in the seventh on an RBI double by Jung and a run-scoring single by Higashioka.
In the bottom of the inning, Cortes registered a one-out RBI double to bring the A’s within 7-3.
Garcia singled to start the ninth before Moore put the game out of reach with a two-run homer off Osvaldo Bido.
–Field Level Media
