Rangers Blank Oakland
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OAKLAND, Calif. — In a battle Wednesday of undefeated aces, Texas Rangers left-hander Martin Perez outdueled Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray, pitching his second straight shutout and lifting Texas to a 3-0 victory over Oakland and a sweep of the three-game series.
Perez extended his streak of scoreless innings to 26. That’s the seventh longest in Rangers history. Left-hander Kenny Rogers owns the record of 39.0, set in 1995 from May 6 to June 1. He became the seventh pitcher in Rangers history to pitch back-to-back shutouts.
“What a pitcher,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “He did a great job against a great hitting team. They’re very aggressive, they know how to sit on pitches, they know how to take advantage of patterns if you have any.
“He stayed out of patterns. He kept the ball down. He gave them nothing on the middle of the plate to hit. He just did a wonderful job to finish it off.”
The Rangers moved a half-game ahead of the A’s and into first place in the American League West for the first time since Sept. 15, 2013.
“First-pitch strikes is a big thing in this game, and I think I did great today,” Perez said. “Continue to work hard. I know it’s early, but we need to win games.”
Perez allowed only three hits, singles by shortstop Jed Lowrie and
catcher Derek Norris and a double by third baseman Josh Donaldson. He struck out three, walked two and threw only 108 pitches, improving to 4-0.
What was working?
“Everything,” Perez said. “Mostly my two-seamer away.”
Perez came into the game with a 3-0 record and a 17-inning scoreless streak. He was coming off his first career complete game shutout, a three-hit gem Friday against the Chicago White Sox.
Perez didn’t give up a hit until Lowrie led off the fourth inning with a single to center. The A’s got their next hit off Perez in the fifth, a single by Norris. Donaldson doubled in the seventh.
“He keeps the ball off the barrel of the bat,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s pitched really well this year. The reason he can get deep in games is he’s not striking a lot of guys out, he’s just keeping it off the barrel of the bat.”
As the game went along, the typically patient A’s hitters became more aggressive and impatient.
“I saw (Yoenis) Cespedes and Donaldson, they tried every time to hit a home run,” Perez said. “That’s why I throw my sinker in the corner. When they’re trying to hit the ball hard, they can’t. I think that for me is a big feature.”
Gray came into the game with a 3-0 mark but took his first loss. He allowed three runs on five hits over seven innings, striking out eight and walking four.
Second baseman Donnie Murphy hit a solo home run for the Rangers. Right fielder Alex Rios had an RBI triple and left fielder Michael Choice went 1-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run.
“Felt great,” Gray said. “There’s a few hits there in the fifth, a few groundballs getting through. Obviously gave up a solo home run there. Overall I felt pretty good today. It was just a tough day at the park.”
The Rangers scored in the top of first inning for the third straight time in the series, taking a 1-0 lead. Choice, starting again for the injured Shin-Soo Choo, led off with a walk and scored with one out when right fielder Alex Rios laced a triple off Gray to left-center.
The Rangers increased their lead to 2-0 with a run in the fifth. Center fielder Leonys Martin led off with an infield single, moved to second on third baseman Josh Wilson sacrifice bunt and scored on Choice’s single to center.
Murphy made it 3-0 in the sixth inning, launching a home run over the right field fence with two out. The home run, which came on a 3-1 count, was Murphy’s first of the season.
