Texas Rangers’ Travis Jankowski, right, is congratulated after scoring against the Oakland Athletics during the seventh inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Mon Aug 7, 2023 (AP News photo)

Texas (67-46). 000 200 120. – 5. 7. 0

Oakland (32-81). 003 000 000 – 3. 6 1

Time: 2:42

Attendance: 4,013

Monday, August 7, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–It was fun seeing and hearing large and loud crowds at the old Oakland Coliseum over the weekend. Even fighting for a parking spot brought a touch of nostalgic pleasure, an awareness that this was an experience we’d had in the past but could not hope to enjoy again.

Monday brought a return to reality. The paid attendance was 4,013, and the A’s, instead of winning, as they unexpectedly had done Saturday and Sunday, blew a lead and lost 5-3 to the division leading Texas Rangers.

Southpaw Ken Waldichuk has been versatile, if not particularly successful, this season. He brought a 2-7, 6.52 record with him when he toed the rubber at 6:42. It was his 26th game. He was what is now called the traditional starter in a dozen of the previous 25, as he was tonight.

In two others, he was the opener, and he relieved in the remaining ten. Waldichuk did an adequate job against the Rangers tonight. He threw 92 pitches, including 30 balls, over six innings, limiting the Rangers to a pair of runs, both earned, on six hits. He had to settle for a no decision that left him at 3-7 2-7, 6.30.

It was the Rangers’ Dane Dunning’s first start against the Athletics and 17th overall for 2023. He came to work with a 9-4, 3.14 record, which is the fourth best among the American League hurlers who qualify for the rankings. He pitched well in his last start, striking out 11 White Sox in 7-2/3 frames while allowing only one run, which was earned.

Monday night, he, too, got a no decision. The lefty went six frames and allowed three runs, all earned, on five hits and three walks while striking out six. He threw 94 pitches, 55 for strikes and went back to the hotel at 9-4, 3.21.

Oakland took a 3-0 lead in the home third. Tony Kemp drew a one out walk and scored on a double by the surging Nick Allen, who reached the Mendoza line with the two bagger.

He had a little bit of luck on his side; Robbie Grossman slipped trying to field his hit, which probably would have been a single, at most, under other circumstances After Dunning fanned Cody Thomas, JJ Bleday walked, and both runners scored on rookie Zack Gelof’s double to right.

The Rangers came charging back in the top of the fourth. A leadoff single by Corey Seager and back to back doubles by Adolis Garcia and Mitch Garver made it a 3-2 game. The second time through the lineup strikes again!

Texas put runners in scoring position in the fifth and sixth, and Oakand’s Gelof fell victim to the Curse of the Leadoff Double in the sixth, but the score remained 3-2 in favor of the A’s through the six innings of Waldichuk’s mound tenure.

His replacement, Lucas Erceg, faced three batters and walked two of them, getting his sole out on a fly to left. Kirby Snead almost saved his bacon, retiring Seager on a grounder to short, but he dropped Tyler Soderstrom’s throw while covering first on Nathaniel Lowe’s grounder. The error allowed Travis Janowski, who had hit for Sam Huff, to score the tying run, charged to Erceg.

Josh Sborz relieved Dunning for the bottom of the seventh, and Dany Jiménez took. over for Snead to start the eighth for Oakland. It was not a fortunate move for the A’s. Mitch Garver lled off with a single to right. Jonathan Ornelas pinch ran for him. Robbie Grossman drew a base on balls. Ezequiel Durán sacrificed both men up 90 feet.

Travis Jankowski, who had pinch hit for DH Huff in the seventh, hit a grounder to second that Gelof unwisely threw home. Ornelas beat the offline throw to break the tie, and the next batter, Leody Tavares, hit a sacrifice fly to center that made it 5-3, Texas.

The legendary Aroldis Chapman came in for the Rangers to face the A’s in their half of the eighth. He overwhelmed the four Athletics he faced, allowing only a walk to Aledmys Díaz, batting for Brown.

Sam Long was tasked with keeping the A’s in striking distance in the top of the ninth, which he did with two Ks and a pop up (with a walk on the side).

Will Smith went for his 21st save in the ninth. He got it.

The win went to Sborz, now 5-4, 4.01, and the loss was charged to Jiménez, whose record now stands at 0-1, 7.04.

The loss was the Athletics’ 81st of the year, leaving them with a winning percentage of .283, the Royals were grand slam walked off by the Red Sox, 6-2 and fell to 36-78, .316.

The 1899 Cleveland Spiders were idle on August 7 and so remained at 17-80, .175. The same day in 1962, the New York Mets fell, 7-5 at Chavez Ravine to Don Drysdale and the Dodgers.

The Mets, who finished the season at 40-120, .250,were 29-82, .261. So the A’s might yet escape the dishonor of having the worst record of any major league team in the early or modern era of big league baseball.

The four game series between the teams from Dallas-Fort Worth and Oakland -Las Vegas will resume Tuesday night at 6:45. Oakand’s JP Sears (2-8, 4.07) will arm wrestle with newly acquired Ranger starter, Max Scherzer (10-4, 4.04).