Oakland A’s Elvis Andrus forearm bashes with Matt Chapman (26) after Chapman hits a first inning home run against the Texas Rangers on Tue Jun 22, 2021 in Arlington (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s (45-30) snapped a three-game losing streak as they routed the Texas Rangers (26-47) 13-6. The A’s sent lefty Cole Irvin to the hill Tuesday night. Irvin pitched well for the first four innings of the game. Things went south for him in the fifth.

The Rangers, trailing 9-0 at the point in the game, put four on the board to make it 9-4. Irvin started the rally by hitting the Rangers’ second Baseman, Nick Solak, with a pitch. Four hits and an error by Mark Canha in left field followed. Texas sent nine men to the plate in the inning. Irin was done for the night.

The Rangers decided to go with their bullpen to start the game. Rangers’ skipper Chris Woodward started lefty Taylor Hearn. The decision did not work out well for Texas. Hearn walked the A’s leadoff hitter Mark Canha. The next hitter, Matt Chapman, blasted a 422-foot home run into the seats in left field.

The ball had an exit velocity of 104.8 miles per hour. Hearn retired Matt Olson for the first out. Ramon Laureano singled. Pinder struck out swinging. Hearn then walked Jed Lowrie and Sean Murphy to load the bases. Former Texas Ranger shortstop Elvis Andrus singled to drive in two. The A’s led 4-0 midway through the first inning.

The A’s continued the onslaught in the second as they put three more runs on the board. Mark Canha led off the frame with a triple. He scored on Matt Chapman’s ground out. The Rangers’ second pitcher of the night, Brett de Gaus, walked Matt Chapman. Ramon Laureano homered to put the A’s ahead 7-0.

The Rangers brought in Jordan Lyles to pitch the third. A’s catcher Sean Murphy greeted him with a single. Elvis Andrus doubled to put men on at first and third with one out. Mark Canha singled to drive in Murphy and Andrus. The A’s had a commanding 9-0 lead after three complete.

As mentioned earlier, Irvin was in cruise control until the bottom of the fifth. He allowed three hits in his first four innings of work. The Rangers rallied for four in their half of the fifth and trailed 9-4.

A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Burch Smith to pitch the sixth. Smith retired all three hitters he faced. In the seventh, Sergio Romo was on the mound for Oakland. Romo retired the first two hitters he faced. He didn’t get past Eli White.

White homered to close the gap to 9-5. In the eighth, Bob Melvin brought in lefty Jake Diekman to face left-handed slugger Joey Gallo. The strategy failed. Gallo belted his 13th dinger of the year, and the Rangers crept within three 9-6. Bob Melvin had to be thinking that they could lose. Diekman struggled. He struck out Andy Ibanez for the first out.

He then walked Nick Solak. Solak attempted to steal second. Sean Murphy’s throw arrived in time. Andrus applied the tag as Solak’s foot came off the bag. The Rangers challenged the call, but the umpires did not reverse the call. Diekman then walked Willie Calhoun. Melvin had seen enough. He brought in Lou Trivino to get the final out.

After allowing two runs in the third, Jordan Lyles held the A’s scoreless the next five innings. The A’s could muster only two hits.

Things changed in the ninth. Chris Woodward brought in rookie DeMarcus Evans to face the A’s. The A’s offense woke up as they put together two singles and three doubles to put four more runs on the board to extend the lead to 13-6. Bob Melvin could breathe a lot easier. He did not have to use Trivino to finish the game. He brought in Deolis Guerra to close out the Rangers. Guerra did his job to secure Oakland’s win 13-6.

Game Notes and Stats- With the win, the A’s are 45-30 for the season. They remain one game behind the Houston Astros in the race for first place in the AL West. The Rangers drop to 26-47.

The A’s line was 13 runs, 15 hits, and one error. The A’s had a season-high 15 hits in the game. They tied a season-high with 13 runs.

The hitting stars for Oakland were Mark Canha ( 3 hits including a triple), Ramon Laureano had two singles and a home run, And Elvis Andrus had three hits, two singles, and a double.

The A’s will meet the Rangers again Wednesday night at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Bob Melvin will have James Kaprielian go for Oakland Kaprielian is 4-1 with a 2.84 ERA. The Rangers will counter with Mike Foltynewicz. Foltynewicz’s season has not gone well so far this year. The righty owns a record of 1-7 and a 5.59 ERA. His ERA in his last seven starts is 6.88.

The game will start at 5.05 pm.