Rangers Swept by A’s

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ARLINGTON, Texas — The Oakland Athletics are starting to get some breaks.

Ace Sonny Gray wasn’t his normal sparkling self Thursday, but that didn’t stop the A’s from rallying late for a 6-3 victory over the Texas Rangers that completed a three-game sweep.

The A’s (34-41) have won nine of their last 11 games after rallying from two deficits Thursday. The Rangers (37-36) have dropped a season-high five straight.

Designated hitter Ben Zobrist put Oakland ahead 4-3 with a bases-loaded walk against Texas reliever Sam Freeman in the seventh inning and right fielder Josh Reddick followed with a two-run single to right. The inning started with right-hander Keone Kela retiring the first two batters before the next five A’s reached base.

The inning looked like it would end with the score tied at 3 after catcher Stephen Vogt hit a comebacker to Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus. But Texas left-hander Sam Freeman tried to make the play instead and the ball tipped off his glove. Zobrist and Reddick then followed with the key at-bats.

“This is the kind of run we need to stay on and keep our lineup and our starting pitching, and our bullpen has been very solid for us,” said Reddick, who finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. “We’ve gotten to a point where

we’re clicking on all cylinders. We’ve just got to keep that up and ride this as long as we can.”

Freeman didn’t retire any of the three batters he faced. He said he should have let the grounder go through, but he made an instinctive play. While that play hurt, he knows that wasn’t his only issue.

“The whole outing makes me mad,” Freeman said. “That (the comebacker) is obviously a part of it. Just not being able to come through and strand those runners, that’s tough.”

The rally made a winner of Gray (9-3), who is 5-0 in five starts at Globe Life Park. Gray allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out seven in six innings.

Texas scored twice against Gray in the fourth as first baseman Mitch Moreland homered and catcher Robinson Chirinos punched an RBI single to left.

Oakland tied the score on left fielder Sam Fuld’s two-run single in the top of the fifth, but Texas responded with another in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Moreland.

The A’s answered again when Reddick drove a sacrifice fly to right against Rangers starter Colby Lewis.

Lewis allowed one hit in the first four innings but walked three batters in the fifth to help the A’s rally.

The big Oakland blow in the fifth came when Fuld made Lewis pay for the three walks with a two-out single to left-center. Lewis entered the fifth having thrown 51 pitches, but he threw 31 in that inning.

“I just flat let them back in the ballgame and beat myself in the fifth,” Lewis said. “That was the majority of what happened. I don’t know the last time I walked three guys in an inning. That may date back to my rookie year. That was just bad pitching. It’s solely on me. I got in a 3-2 count with Fuld there and threw three fastballs right in the same spot, and he wound up hitting it. That might have sparked them a little bit.”

Fuld credited his teammates earlier in the inning for making Lewis work to set up the momentum-changing hit.

“Brett (Lawrie) and Ike (Davis) had amazing at-bats,” Fuld said. “That inning doesn’t happen without their walks earlier in that inning. That’s as much a part of that inning as any other aspect of it.”

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