Athletics drop finale to Rangers 9-4

The Oakland Athletics dropped their second straight game Sunday with a 9-4 loss to the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers jumped out to an early lead as Marcus Semien jumped on the first pitch of the afternoon from Luis Medina and took it out to left for a solo home run. Medina retired Corey Seager, but then hit Nathaniel Lowe. Mitch Garner doubled to put runners at second and third and both runners came in to score on a double by Robbie Grossman. Medina recovered and was able to retire the next two hitters to escape with no further damage.

The A’s came roaring back in the third against Jon Gray. Tyler Soderstrom got things started with a solo home run to start the inning.

Gray retired Esteury Ruiz and Tony Kemp, but then issued back-to-back walks to Gelof and Noda. Seth Brown cashed in Gelof with a single to make it 3-2. Jordan Diaz tied it with a single of his own to make it 3-3.

That would be the end of the line for Gray, who was quickly replaced by Andrew Heaney. Lawrence Butler followed and sent a grounder to third that Josh Smith couldn’t handle for an error. Brown raced home to put the A’s in front 4-3.

Medina worked a scoreless third and then struck out two in a scoreless fourth. Jordan Diaz doubled with one out in the fifth, but Heaney struck out Butler and Smith to leave him stranded.

Things went south for Medina in the fifth. Evan Carter walked to begin the inning, but was erased on a ground out by Semien. Seager followed with a double to put runners at second and third. Lowe would bring home both runners with a single to put the Rangers back in front 5-4. Adrian Martinez replaced Medina and retired the next two hitters to avoid any further damage.

It was another uneven outing for Medina who allowed six hits, three walks and five runs over 4 1/3 innings. He threw 84 pitches and finished with three strikeouts.

Things unraveled for Martinez in the sixth. Leody Tavares singled to begin the inning. After a fly out by Jonah Heim, Smith tripled sharply over the head of Ruiz in right to make it 6-4. Carter scored Smith with a sacrifice fly before Semien and Seager went back-to-back to give the Rangers a 9-4 lead.

Heaney held the A’s in check until the seventh when they threatened again. Noda singled and then moved all the way to third on a double down the left field line by Brown. The Rangers went back to their bullpen for Jose Leclerc who struck out Diaz for the second out. Butler worked a walk to load the bases, but Leclerc struck out Smith swinging to leave the runners stranded.

Oakland got a two-out single from Aledmys Diaz in the eighth, but weren’t able to cash him in. They went down in order in the ninth to end the game.

The A’s drop the series and fall to 44-99 on the season. They will continue their road trip Monday in Houston where they will begin a three-game series against the Astros.