Sacramento A’s Zack Gelof (20) is congratulated in the A’s dugout in the top of the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Wed Sep 2, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Mauricio Segura

In four innings, Hery Bolte turned a two-run deficit into his own personal highlight reel. The rookie right fielder homered twice, drove in four runs and reached base five times as the Sacramento Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 9-2, snapping a five-game losing streak and avoiding a three-game sweep. Bolte also stole a base and finished 3-for-4, giving the Green and Gold the spark they had been missing through the first two games of the series.

Texas struck first against Jacob Lopez. Ezequiel Duran opened the bottom of the first with a solo homer to left, and Justin Foscue added another solo shot in the second for a 2-0 Rangers lead. Lopez never gave them anything more. The Athletics answered in the third after Denzel Clarke singled. Bolte followed with a two-run homer to right-center to tie the game, then Zack Gelof went deep to left for a 3-2 lead. Lawrence Butler also singled in the inning, extending his season-high hitting streak from 10 games to 11.

Bolte was not finished. Brian Serven doubled to begin the fourth and moved to third on Clarke’s groundout. Bolte then sent another two-run homer to right, stretching the lead to 5-2. The pair of blasts raised his season total from six to eight. His surge followed a strong August in which he hit .310 with 35 hits and 19 runs while leading all major league rookies in hits for the month. He also produced six three-hit games during August, and this performance gave him another three-hit afternoon when the Athletics badly needed one.

The fifth inning turned a good lead into a runaway. Jonah Heim homered to center off Robby Ahlstrom, making it 6-2. Jeff McNeil followed with a single, stole second and scored when Alika Williams launched a two-run homer to left. Williams struck again in the seventh with an RBI double that brought McNeil home and pushed the score to 9-2. Williams finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and a walk, while McNeil went 2-for-4, scored twice and stole a base. Heim’s homer carried a little extra history after he played for Texas last season.

Lopez made sure the early Texas homers became little more than a head start that disappeared. The left-hander worked six innings, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven. He retired Texas without another run after Foscue’s homer in the second and earned the victory, improving to 6-4. His performance extended a run that had already seen him allow two runs or fewer in nine consecutive starts before facing Texas. Geoff Hartlieb followed with two scoreless innings, getting Corey Seager to ground into a double play in the seventh, and Hogan Harris finished the ninth without allowing a runner.

The Athletics piled up 14 hits and five home runs, with Bolte, Gelof, Heim and Williams accounting for all five. The win did more than stop the losing streak. The A’s began the game tied 6-6 with Texas in the season series and needing one victory to take the matchup for the first time since 2021. They got it in emphatic fashion, finishing the season series 7-6 and leaving Texas with one of their best offensive performances of the late summer.

The Athletics now head to Seattle Thursday night at T Mobile Field, where Jack Perkins (3-10, 6.42 ERA, 109 K) is set to face Mariners left-hander Kade Anderson (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 8 K) at 6:40 p.m. Pacific, giving the A’s a quick chance to see whether their five-homer swing can travel north.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.