By Jerry Feitelberg.

As Yogi Berra once said:”it’s deja vu all over again.” The late A’s Hall of Fame broadcaster Bill King probably would have screamed “Holy Toledo” several times during Wednesday night’s game against the Texas Rangers. The A’s continued to electrify its fans and demoralize their opponents as they did it again. The A’s trailed 5-1 after six innings. They stunned the Rangers Tuesday night as they overcame an eight-run deficit. Could they do it again? The answer is yes they did. Designated hitter, Khris Davis was a one-man wrecking crew as he homered twice to drive in five runs to propel the A’s to their fifth straight win and their 26th win in the last 33 games played. The A’s remain 1 and 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. They are also closing in on the first place Houston Astros. The Astros lost to Colorado Wednesday night, and the A’s now trail them by 6 1/2 games.

The A’s scored a run in the first inning to take an early lead. Marcus Semien doubled to left to start the inning. First baseman Matt Olson also doubled to drive in Semien.

The Rangers tallied three in the bottom of the second. Edwin Jackson walked Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo to put two on and no out. Robinson Chirinos, who always seems to kill the A’s, hit a monster shot that went 429 feet over the center field wall. The Rangers added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Carlos Tocci singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Tocci advanced to third on a passed ball. Rougned Odor singled to drive in Tocci. Odor stole second and he scored on a single off the bat of future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre. The Rangers lead 5-1 after five complete.

The A’s failed to score in the sixth. Rangers’ manager Jeff Banister brought in former San Francisco Giant Corey Gearrin to pitch the seventh. A’s catcher Josh Phegley greeted him with a single. Gearrin retired Semien and Nick Martini. He walked Jed Lowrie to put men on at first and second with A’s DH Khris Davis coming to the plate. KD unloaded his 26th bomb of the season to deep center field. The ball traveled 426 feet, and the A’s now trail 5-4.

The A’s bullpen continued to pitch well. After Jackson’s demise, Petit, Hatcher, Buchter, and Trivino kept the Rangers scoreless as they gave up just one hit to the Rangers.

That set the stage for the fateful ninth inning. The Rangers brought in Jose LeClerc to close out the game. Keone Kela was not available as he threw 40 pitches Tuesday night. Here’s how the inning unfolded. With one out LeClerc walked Nick Martini. He then struck out Jed Lowrie for the second out. Dustin Fowler was sent in to run for Martini. LeClerc now had to face Khris Davis. LeClerc put Davis in a two-strike hole. However, as mentioned earlier, Davis loves to hit in Texas. His 27th home run of the year was an opposite-field shot that went 421 feet. There was no doubt about it when it left the bat, and the A’s were in front 6-5. Bob Melvin summoned his All-Star closer Blake Treinen from the bullpen. Treinen did not disappoint as he struck out the side to preserve the win for Oakland.

Game Notes- Edwin Jackson made his sixth start of the year, and it was not his best effort. Jackson went 4 and 1/3rd innings and allowed 7 hits and five runs. The A’s bullpen was magnificent as they held the Rangers scoreless and gave the A’s a chance to get back in the game. The winning pitcher was Lou Trivino who worked a scoreless eighth inning. His record is now 8-1. Treinen recorded his 26th save in 30 tries. The Rangers’ Martin Perez gave his team a quality start as he went six innings and gave up one run and seven hits. Jose LeClerc took the loss and is now 2-3 for the year.

Khris Davis has homered in his sixth consecutive game against the Rangers. He has 25 homers and 57 RBIs in 49 career games against the Rangers. In Texas, Davis has 15 home runs and 31 RBIs in 26 road games. Davis also has six home runs in his last four games. He is sizzling right now.

The A’s go for the sweep Thursday night at Globe Life Field. Trevor Cahill will pitch for Oakland, and he will be opposed by the ageless wonder Bartolo Colon who is 45-years old. Colon is tied with Dennis Martinez for most wins (245) by a native of Latin America. Game time will be at 7:05 pm.