Rangers Bats Come Alive In Win
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Leonys Martin did it with his legs and his bat Wednesday night, helping the Texas Rangers to a 9-4 victory over the American League West-leading Oakland A’s at Rangers Ballpark.
Texas (40-32) won for the second time in three nights, moving back within two games of Oakland (43-31). The four-game series ends Thursday afternoon, which also completes Texas’ 11-game homestand.
Martin went 2-for-3, scored twice and drove in a run in a rare start against a left-hander. The 25-year-old lefty center fielder was a key part of rallies in the fifth and sixth innings, as the Rangers scored six unanswered runs.
The offensive surge made a winner out of Justin Grimm, who improved to 6-5. The Rangers didn’t get a quality start out of Grimm, but the rookie did go five innings and left with the lead.
That’s progress for a staff that hadn’t picked up a win in June, a 17-game winless stretch for starters that set a new franchise record. Texas was the only team in baseball without a win from a starter this month.
Texas broke the game open in the sixth, chasing Oakland starter Tommy Milone and
opened up a five-run lead. Martin, Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre each had run-scoring hits in the sixth.
Milone (6-7) gave up a season-high six runs in 5.1 innings, dropping to 0-3 all-time against the Rangers. A’s reliever Dan Otero gave up another two runs in the sixth.
Texas regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Leonys Martin’s speed on the base paths. David Murphy and Martin opened the inning with back-to-back singles, with Murphy going to third on Martin’s hit to right.
Martin stole second before Ian Kinsler’s sacrifice fly scored the tying run. Now at third, Martin broke for home on Nelson Cruz’s hard grounder to third. Josh Donaldson elected to go home, but Martin slid around catcher Derek Norris’ tag to put Texas up 4-3.
Grimm held the A’s in check through the first four innings before losing his command and falling apart in the fifth. The rookie right-hander walked two in the inning and, despite getting two outs, couldn’t get the third before Oakland took its first lead.
Chris Young took a 3-1 fastball over the centerfield wall for his seventh home run, giving the A’s a 3-2 lead. Grimm had allowed just two hits through the first four innings, but couldn’t find the strike zone against the bottom of Oakland’s order.
Josh Reddick and Eric Sogard, the Nos. 7 and 9 hitters, were walked. Visits from Texas pitching coach Mike Maddux and catcher A.J. Pierzynski didn’t seem to help, as Grimm quickly fell behind Young.
The Rangers jumped out ahead 2-0 in the second on a rare show of power from Lance Berkman. The designated hitter smashed a Milone offering right down the middle of the plate into the Oakland bullpen in left-center.
Berkman drove in Adrian Beltre, who opened the inning with a single. It was just the sixth homer of the season for Berkman and just his second since May 25.
