Oliver Perez made his 200th career start on May 26 against the Athletics in Oakland, and though he did not pick up a decision in the 4-1 Rangers win, he pitched another solid outing.
“I just come here and always try to have the mentality to do what I can to try to perform good and help the team,” Perez told MLB.com after the outing.
Perez tossed seven innings in the win, allowing one run on four hits while walking two and fanning six. His ERA on the season, 1.60 in 56.1 innings pitched, is second-best in MLB behind Justin Verlander, who shut the Rangers down in his last outing.
“[Perez] doesn’t blow the radar gun up at 99,” Ranger’s skipper Chris Woodward told MLB.com. “It’s 92, 93, and he gets it up to 95 when he needs it. But it’s just the way he pitches and when he executes pitches. I feel like he’s always in control. And I think that’s the hallmark of a really good pitcher.”
Perez has been a road warrior for Texas, and before the run allowed to the Athletics on this night, he had tossed 25 consecutive innings on the road without allowing an earned run (a Texas team record).
Unfortunately for Perez, the Rangers, and their faithful, Frankie Montas was on the mound for Oakland, and the 29-year-old righty was just as effective as Perez. Montas, who also did not earn a decision in the game, pitched seven innings and allowed one run (unearned) while yielding three hits, two walks, and striking out 11.
Texas got their first run of the night in the second inning after Andy Ibanez worked his way into a bases-loaded walk to score Kole Calhoun (Calhoun singled to lead off the inning).
Oakland’s Chad Pinder singled to open the bottom of the fourth inning and worked his way around the basepath before Perez unleashed a wild pitch allowing Pinder to score from the third and knot the game 1-1.
With two studs on the mounds in the contest, offense was at a premium. Combined, the two teams could only muster a battering average of .164 (11-for-67, Rangers 6-for-34, and the A’s 5-for-31).
The Rangers’ bats heated up in the top of the ninth inning. Jonah Heim hit a pitch up the middle for a single with one out. Eli White came in to pinch run for Heim, with Adolis Garcia coming to the dish. Garcia belted the second pitch he saw – a 95.2 MPH sinker – down the third baseline. White was running on the pitch and made his way around the basepath to score the go-ahead, and eventual winning, run.
Nathaniel Lowe sealed the deal for Texas in the following at-bat when he hit a 1-2, 81.6 mph sinker into the right-center bleacher for a two-run homer (his third of the season.)
Ahead of the three-run top of the ninth, Matt Bush relived Perez in the bottom of the eighth and allowed one hit and one walk in the frame, picking up the victory and moving his record to 2-1 on the season.
Texas righty Joe Barlow pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up his eighth save of the season.
The win lifts Texas to 20-23, good for third place in the AL West.
Game two between Texas and Oakland is set for Friday, May 27, starting at 9:40 p.m. EDT. Probable starters for the contest are righty Jon Grey (1-2, 5.14) for Texas and Cole Irvin (2-2, 3.21) for the Athletics.
