by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Texas Rangers beat the A’s Tuesday night 4-1 behind the strong pitching by their ace, Cole Hamels. The veteran left recorded 11 strikeouts in five innings of work and held the A’s offense to just one run. The A’s starter Kendall Graveman ran into trouble in the second inning, and he struggled for the second game in a row. The Rangers scored two in the second, one in the third and one in the fourth to send the A’s down to defeat.

The Rangers got to Kendall Graveman in the second inning. He gave up 2 runs on four hits.  Adrian Beltre started the rally with a sharp single to center field. For Beltre, it was the 3,053rd hit of his illustrious career. The hit tied him with Rod Carew for most hits by a Latin player, and he ranks 25th all-time in that department. The next hitter Nomar Mazara doubled to right-center. Beltre stopped at third.  Robinson Chirinos grounded out to drive in Beltre with the Rangers’ first run. Second baseman Rougned Odor singled to drive in Mazara with the second run of the inning. A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy nailed Odor as he tried to steal second. Ryan Rua Singled and advanced to third when Graveman issued a walk to Drew Robinson. Rua attempted to steal third, but Lucroy gunned him down.

With one out in the top of the third, Rangers’ first baseman Joey Gallo took Graveman deep for his second dinger of the year and put the Rangers ahead 3-0. The A’s cut the deficit to two when Chad Pinder, playing in left, hit his first home run of the year. The A’s trail 3-1 after three complete.

Graveman could not shut down the Rangers in the top of the fourth. Nomar Mazara singled to start the frame. Graveman didn’t help his cause when he uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Mazara to advance into scoring position. Graveman got Robinson Chirinos to ground out, and Mazara was held at second. Rougned Odor then singled to drive in Mazara with the Rangers’ fourth run.

There was no more scoring the rest of the way. Both bullpens did their jobs after the starting pitchers exited the contest. The Rangers win 4-1 to even the series at one apiece.

Game Notes- Rangers starter Cole Hamels went five innings and allowed one run and just four hits while walking three and striking out eleven A’s hitters. Hamels threw 94 pitches in his five innings of work, and his record stands at 1-1. The A’s starter Kendall Graveman did not pitch well for the second game in a row, Graveman’s also went five innings, but he gave up four runs and 8 hits. He issued one free pass and struck out just one hitter.  He gave up a home run to Joey Gallo in the third inning. Graveman’s record is now 0-1.

A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy had an outstanding evening on defense. Lucroy threw out three men attempting to steal and tagged a runner out at home after he tried to score from first on a double to left. The A’s offense could not get anything going. They scored just one run, and they did not have an inning in which they had more than one hit. They had eight hits in the game, one in each inning except the sixth. Chad Pinder was the only A’s player that did anything against Hamels as he had a double and a home run.

The Rangers and A’s have an identical won-loss record as they both are now 2-4 for 2018. The Series is tied at one apiece. Game three Wednesday night will feature left Sean Manaea going for Oakland, and the veteran righty Doug Fister will hurl for Texas. Game time will be at 7:05 pm.

Time of game was two hours and fifty minutes. There were 9,157 fans at the ballpark Tuesday night. It was the second-lowest attendance since May 3rd, 2010. The lowest since that time was last night.