The Texas Rangers have been disappointing for much of the season but suddenly are making their move.
The Rangers will take aim at their seventh victory in eight games when they battle the Athletics on Saturday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Texas kept its recent run going with a 5-2 victory in Friday’s opener of a three-game series. Jonah Heim hit a tiebreaking homer in the fifth inning, and Michael Helman added a two-run shot in the seventh.
“Whatever I can do to help the team win,” Helman said after hitting his third homer in his 13 games this season. “There is a lot of good energy around the locker room.”
Texas seemed to be close to playing out the string when it lost 15 of 21 games to fall three games below .500 on Aug. 19. But during the team’s current seven-game run, the Rangers have outscored their opponents 51-15, including Wednesday’s mammoth 20-3 romp over of the Los Angeles Angels.
Texas now sits just 3 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the race for the American League’s third wild-card spot.
Yet the Rangers’ spurt hasn’t come without challenges.
Texas star shortstop Corey Seager was formally placed on the 10-day injured list Friday. He underwent an appendectomy on Thursday, but the five-time All-Star hopes to return before the end of this season.
The loss of Seager comes shortly after three-time All-Star second baseman Marcus Semien (fractured left foot) was injured and might be done for the season.
“They’re fighting,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said of his players. “They’re bouncing back well from some things that have happened with the injuries and everything. They played very well (on Friday night).”
Rangers standout Adolis Garcia was hitless in four at-bats in the opener. He went 9-for-20 with two homers, four doubles, eight RBIs and six runs over the previous five contests.
Athletics rookie star Nick Kurtz exited Friday’s contest with right oblique soreness after scoring a run in the third inning.
“Until we can get him looked at, we won’t have any more details to give you until then,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said afterward of Kurtz, who is batting .308 with 27 homers and 70 RBIs in 94 games.
The Athletics struggled without Kurtz’s bat as they had just five hits, all coming off Texas starter Jack Leiter. Brent Rooker hit a two-run double for the club’s runs.
“We couldn’t get anything offensively going,” Kotsay said. “Leiter threw the ball really well, and that bullpen can pitch.”
Merrill Kelly (10-7, 3.20 ERA) will make his sixth start for the Rangers since being acquired by Texas at the trade deadline last month. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 3.10 ERA for Texas.
Kelly, 36, is coming off his best outing since joining the Rangers. He struck out eight and blanked the Cleveland Guardians on four hits over seven innings during a 5-0 victory on Sunday. Kelly is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two career starts against the Athletics.
Right-hander Mason Barnett will make his major league debut for the A’s. He is rated as the team’s No. 11 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He was 6-2 with a 6.13 ERA in 25 appearances (23 starts) at Triple-A Las Vegas.
Barnett, 24, was a third-round pick by the Kansas City Royals in 2022. He was obtained by the Athletics as part of the trade in which Kansas City acquired right-hander Lucas Erceg at the 2024 deadline.
“He’s got a four-pitch mix,” Kotsay told reporters. “He’s a power-type arm that has the ability in short spurts to maximize the velocity. I’m excited for the opportunity to get to see him pitch in the big leagues for us.”
–Field Level Media
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