by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Oakland A’s Khris Davis goes yard for a walk off grand slam as shown in this follow through swing to defeat the Texas Rangers in the ninth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday night

OAKLAND–The A’s and Texas Rangers played a very entertaining game Tuesday night at the Coliseum.The A’s won in a walk off 8-5. The A’s starter Jesse Hahn gave the A’s a quality start as he went six and 2/3rds innings allowing three runs and ten hits. He had trouble in the fourth as he gave up solo homers to the first two batters he faced. The Rangers scored another run in the inning. He left the game with the game tied at three. The Rangers starter Cole Hamels also went six and 2/3rds innings but he was on the hook for the loss if the A’s could hold the Rangers. They couldn’t as the Rangers rallied for two in the top of the ninth with two out . The A’s refused to quit and they won when Kris Davis hit his third home run of the game with the bases loaded to send the fans home happy and the A’s also put a big smile on manager Bob Melvin’s face with the come-from-behind win.

The A’s jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. The A’s third baseman Danny Valencia, a very hot hitter who hit five home runs last week after a stint on the DL, blasted his sixth dinger of the year into the bleachers above the 367-foot mark. The next hitter-left fielder Khris Davis, hit the first pitch he saw from Cole Hamels and sent it into the bleachers above the 367-foot mark. A’s in the lead 2-0.

The Rangers, just as the A’s did in the bottom of the second, started the top of the fourth with back-to-back solo home runs. Right fielder Nomar Mazara , leading off, hit a 2-0 pitch over the fence in right-centerfield. Future Hall-of-Fame player, Adrian Beltre tied the game  with his seventh home run of the year. Texas scored another run with singles by Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, and catcher Bobby Wilson. Texas leads 3-2 in the middle of the fourth.

Khris Davis launched his second bomb of the night in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at three apiece.  The ball went over just to the left of the 398-foot marker in left center field. For Davis, it was his second two-homer game of the year and eighth of his career. The A’s broke the tie in the seventh. Catcher Matt McBride struck out but reached first on a passed ball. Coco tried to bunt him over to second but the sacrifice failed. Reddick singled to put men on at first and second with two out. The A’s hottest hitter, Danny Valencia, did it again as he singled to drive in Crisp with the fourth run of the game.

The Rangersscored twice in the top of the ninth to regain the lead. A’s closer Ryan Madson retired the first two batters. Ranger second baseman, the infamous Rougned Odor singled. Ian Desmond homered to put Texas in the lead 5-4. It was the first blown save of the year for Madson. Madson had been 11 for 11 in save opportunities but that streak is now over.

The A’s rallied in the bottom of the ninth to win the game 8-5. Stephen Vogt, pinch-hiting for Matt McBride, reached on an infield single. Coco Crisp doubled down the righ field line to put men on at second and third with no out. Rangers’ closer Shawn Tolleson retired Billy Burns for the first out. The Rangers walked Josh Reddick to load the bases. Tolleson got Danny Valencia to fly out to short right field. Vogt could not tag and score to tie the game. The next hitter was Khris Davis. Davis had a feast or famine night. He had two home runs and two strikeouts. Tonight was Khris’s night. David took Tolleson deep for a walk off Grand Slam. Davis had the first three-homer game of his career. The team jumped onto the field to give him a huge welcome when he crossed the plate.

GameNotes- The A’s improved to 18-22 and have won four of their last five games. The Rangers drop to 22-18 for the season. It was 76 degrees at the start of the game and the ball was flying. The A’s had four homers. Three were hit Davis and one by Valencia. The Rangers hit three out of the park. Very rare to have that many home runs hit at the Coliseum at night.

Ryan Madson, who blew the save, was the winning pitcher. Shawn Tolleson took the loss for Texas.

Update on Mark Canha. The A’s outfielder-first baseman saw a doctor in Vail, Colorado and he will have season-ending surgery to correct a hip injury. The recovery time is six months.

Lefty Rich Hill (5-3, 2.68) will pitch for Oakland and lefty Martin Perez(1-3, 3.23) will go for Texas. Time of ame was two hours and thirty-five minutes and 12,718 fans saw a terrific ball game. Game time will be Wednesday afternoon at 12:35.