Rangers’ relief pitcher Dennis Santana was lit up like an Independence Day sparkler in extra innings on Tuesday, allowing five earned runs – six total – in a 14-7 thrashing by the Athletics.
“With Santana today, you know, he put his body on the line for the team knowing that he was, you know, pretty much out of gas, thinking he could get the job done,” Rangers’ skipper Chris Woodward said after the 12-inning loss. “We got to be better.”
The Rangers started with a bang, posting an early 2-0 lead in the first inning after Marcus Semien followed up a Josh H. Smith double with a home run, his 12th of the season. The team added another tick mark on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when Leody Taveras drilled an RBI double into right field, scoring Adolis Garcia.
Starting Texas pitcher Glenn Otto was solid through his first four innings pitched – he yielded just one run – until the fifth inning when he was shelled for three hits and a walk and then committed a throwing error that led to an Oakland 4-3 lead and Otto’s exit.
The A’s added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning, placing Texas in a 5-3 hole with three outs remaining.
Corey Seager put the Rangers in striking distance, leading off the bottom of the ninth. He belted his team-leading 21st homer of the year on a 2-1, 95-MPH four-seam fastball, depositing it into the center field bleachers. Two outs later, down to their final out, Leody Taveras doubled to left field to keep the rally alive.
Cole Calhoun pinch hit for Charlie Culberson in the next at-bat, and he yanked a line-drive, 0-2 fastball to right field, scoring Taveras and knotting the game 5-5, sending the game to extra innings.
Oakland and Texas traded runs in the tenth inning – Semien doubled in Sam Huff to tie the game 6-6 – but after a scoreless 11th, the wheels fell off for Texas.
Oakland brought 10 batters to the plate in the final frame, the second to last hitter – Chad Pinder – belting a grand slam off Santana for a 14-6 lead.
Smith was able to move phantom runner Steven Duggar home from second in the Ranger’s last at-bat, but the Texas bats went quietly after that, 1-2-3, in the loss.
Santana suffered the loss, falling to 3-4 on the season. The generally reliable Ranger’s bullpen got roughed up on the evening. Of the seven Texas Rangers out of the pen, only Matt Moore (1.2 innings, three strikeouts), Matt Bush (one inning, one walk, one strikeout), and Brock Burke kept the A’s from scoring in the loss.
Joe Barlow lasted an inning and allowed a run; Brett Martin followed suit with an inning and a run, and Kolby Allard allowed two runs in .2 innings pitched in the final frame.
Texas drops to 40-45 with the loss and is 4-6 in their last 10, good for third in the AL West and 4.5 games out of the final wild-card spot.
The rubber match between the Rangers and A’s is set for Wednesday at 7:05 CDT. Paul Blackburn (6-4, 3.36) and Jon Gray (5-4, 4.03) for Texas are probable pitchers.
