Oakland A’s reliever Mason Miller (19) walks off the field after the Texas Rangers Josh Jung (6) took Miller deep for a walk off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Sun Sep 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Oakland A’s (59-78) fought back in their game three with the Texas Rangers (65-72) Sunday tying it up in the eighth inning 2-2. Mason Miller got out of the bottom of the ninth inning but did not fare as well in the tenth.

Oakland took the lead in the tenth inning scoring two runs and taking a 4-2 lead. Things were looking very promising for Oakland. Miller pitched the tenth inning walking Wyatt Langford and with two runners on base Josh Jung knocked the ball out of the park for their second walk off win of the series winning 6-4 on Sunday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

What was even more disappointing was that Miller was one strike away from an out twice in the tenth and just came up short.

Game recap: Texas took the early lead in the first inning 1-0. Adolis Garcia doubled Corey Seager home and the Rangers would extend their lead in the third inning to 2-0. Josh Smith singled Justin Forcue home and Texas had a great start in this game. Through seven innings the Rangers had seven hits (they would finish with ten hits) and Oakland had 11 (they would finish with 16 hits).

The A’s finally got on the board in the fifth inning. It was no surprise that it was Brent Rooker who started the Oakland rally hitting a single allowing Jacob Wilson to reach home for the single run.

The A’s would tie up the game in the eighth inning when Max Schuemann singled and Zach Gelof scored for the 2-2 game. Schuemann pushed his luck and attempted to reach second base and was thrown out.

This game went into the bottom of the eighth all knotted. It would be up to Michel Otanez to keep Texas from scoring giving the A’s one more chance to take the lead in the ninth inning. The A’s were still looking for their first homer of the game. Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker both had 3 hits apiece through eight innings but no long balls.

Oakland’s Mitch Spence went five innings allowing five hits, two runs, three walks and five strikeouts. He was relieved by Ross Stripling who allowed a couple of hits but no runs. He pitched the sixth inning before being relieved by T.J. McFarland in the seventh inning going three up and three down. Michel Otanez took over on the mound in the eighth inning also going three up and three down.

In the ninth inning Lawrence Butler had his fourth hit of the game, a single. Brent Rooker came to the plate singled and Butler reached third base with one out and Shea Langeliers at the plate.

Langeliers made contact but unfortunately hit into a double play and the game remained tied at two. Texas had another opportunity for a walk off after winning in a walk off in game two. Mason Miller took the mound for Oakland looking to extend this game into extra innings. Miller allowed a single but that would be it for the Rangers and this game went into the tenth inning.

JJ Bleday and Daz Cameron both struck out in the tenth and it was up to Seth Brown to save this game and he came up huge hitting a triple bringing home second base runner Shea Langeliers. Oakland took a 3-2 lead which they extended when Zach Gelof doubled and Seth Brown crossed home plate for a 4-2 Oakland lead.

Miller struck out first at bat Corey Seager on a full count looking to save this game. Josh Smith flied out for the second out. Adolis Garcia connected singling Marcus Semien home and we had a 4-3 ball game with two outs.

Miller walked Wyatt Langford and the Rangers had runners on first and second with Josh Jung at the plate. Jung took a mighty swing and sent the ball out of the park for a 6-4 Texas win and a Mason Miller blown save.

Despite the loss, Lawrence Butler continued to be on fire with four hits in this game. Brent Rooker also finished the game with four hits. Zach Gelof had three hits in the game and Seth Brown was terrific in the tenth inning with the triple that gave the A’s the lead in the top of the tenth.

Game notes: Saturday the A’s lost a close game to theRangers (65-72) after tying up the game in the sixth inning. They are looking for their 60th win of the season and it has not come easy. In today’s rubber game Oakland will have another chance of reaching that milestone. At season’s end last year they finished with 50 wins and with roughly a month left to play they could finish with a very nice second half of the season. In today’s game, Mitch Spence will take the mound with a 7-9 win/loss record and a 4.54 ERA. The Rangers will be looking to Walter Pennington to win the series for Texas.

Monday night the A’s will travel home to take on the Seattle Mariners in a four game series at the Coliseum. They continue to look for their 60th win of the season and right now it is like pulling teeth. It is painful, it is just not happening. Osvaldo Bido will take the mound for the Athletics with a 5-3 win/loss record and a 3.21 ERA. Seattle will start Logan Gilbert with a 7-10 win/loss record and a 3.09 ERA. First pitch on the holiday is scheduled for 4:07 PM.