Tag: texas rangers

A’s vs. Rangers declared a rainout – Oakland needed a break!

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Rangers T
 ‘Photo: @Rangers

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland A’s vs. Texas Rangers game that was scheduled to be played on Saturday night was canceled due to rain. Normally a team would be upset about a postponed game and looming doubleheader later in the season, but that may not be the case the A’s.

The team has not had a day off since March 28. The A’s will have Monday and Thursday off next week, but after the grind Oakland has been on since traveling to Japan to open the season, they can use all the days of rest they can get.

This game has been rescheduled as a day-night doubleheader to be played on June 8th.

The rainout will affect the A’s starting rotation. Brett Anderson will make the start on Sunday as scheduled. Marco Estrada – who was set to start on Saturday – will now take the hill on Tuesday versus the Astros in game one of that two-game series. That will also push Frankie Montas and Aaron Brooks back in the rotation.

Next Year there will be no rainouts in Texas

 

Rangers roof closed
Globe Life Field @Rangers

Next year there will be no rainouts for the Rangers. They will simply close the roof on their new Globe Life Field and play will go on. That also means when it is hot and humid in August, day games will be played in the Metroplex.

Ranger Globe Life Field open
When conditions are right – baseball will be played with the roof open in Texas @Rangers

The first pitch for the game on Sunday is scheduled for 12:05 PM PDT.

Fiers Stays Cold, Davis Stays Hot, A’s Rally Past Rangers 8-6

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matt Harrington

Mike Fiers isn’t having a great start to his 2019 season, but that’s fine because Khris Davis certainly is. Fiers went only five innings in Arlington Friday night, surrendering 6 runs to the Texas Rangers but the A’s rallied back to win 8-6 capped by Davis’ MLB-leading 10th homer of the year. Oakland scored seven runs in the sixth inning or later after trailing 6-1 to that point.

Fiers put the A’s in a hole after allowing a solo homer to Asdrubal Cabrera and a three-run shot to Elvis Andrus after a coughing up two runs in the first inning on a run-scoring double from Logan Forsythe and a ground out that plated a run in the first. Thanks to a strong bullpen effort, Fiers escaped with a no decision though, a blessing considering his 7.06 ERA to start the year. 

Fiers exited the game after five innings, but the A’s magic really began in the top of the sixth. Matt Chapman hit a bases loaded single to pull the A’s to 6-3, then Davis’ fielder’s choice added another. Stephen Piscotty doubled home a run to make it 6-5.

Ramon Laureano homered in the next inning to tie it after Yusmeiro Petit pitched a clean sixth inning. Davis homered in the eight to make it 7-6 A’s and make Lou Trivino the winner after he pitched a perfect seventh and retired a batter in the bottom of the eighth. Josh Phegley had tacked on an insurance run in the top of that frame and Ryan Butcher got the second out of the inning coming in for Trivino. Blake Treinen nailed down his fifth save of the year after picking up the final four outs including three punchouts. 

Game two will be played on Saturday at 5:05 pm PT.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Astros McHugh throws well against A’s; Oakland’s Montas effort not enough to win

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Photo credit: ESPN

On the A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

If you look at the job that Oakland A’s starter Frankie Montas did on Friday night he didn’t do all that badly he made it into the fifth inning almost into the sixth inning and he was charged with all three Houston Astros runs in the 3-2 loss. Montas drops his record to 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA.

Which isn’t bad for Montas considering his line on Friday was five innings, seven hits and two earned runs. The offense was shutdown by Astros pitcher Colin McHugh (1-1) 2.45 ERA. McHugh went six innings, three hits, with four strikeouts.

McHugh has a long history of pitching well against the A’s line up and McHugh used to be a starter and a reliever for Houston. So it wasn’t a surprise that the A’s lost the first game of this trip to Houston but by that much one run.

Jerry is a beat writer for the Oakland A’s and does the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Former pitcher Wetteland up on child sex abuse charges; NFL Championships game predictions; plus more

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Photo credit: @nypost

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 Former Major League pitcher John Wettland, who pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, was arrested for continuous sexual abuse with a child under 14. The abuse was reportedly to have taken place between 2004-2009.

#2 NFL Championships game and the road to the Super Bowl. London makes his predictions: New England and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC.

#3 In the NFC Championship: The Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. One of these teams are just one game shy of getting into the Super Bowl.

#4 The Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will be replacing the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers in the Pro Bowl. In the regular season, Luck completed passes 67.3 percent of the time for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns.

#5 The NHL All-Star game will be in San Jose on Saturday, January 26 without Alex Ovechkin, who’s the Washington Capitals star.

London Marq does the Headline podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com each Wednesday

Melvin puts his bullpen on speed dial in A’s 7-3 come-from-behind win over the Rangers

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — The first sign of something gone horribly wrong was actually the precursor to things going smoothly as usual at the Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

A’s starter Trevor Cahill–undefeated (5-0) and extraordinarly comfortable pitching at the Coliseum–couldn’t find the strike zone, walking the first three batters he faced on just 14 pitches. After escaping a first inning disaster, Cahill was done before the end of three innings, trailing 3-0, having walked six of the 14 batters he faced, and doing so in an perversely economical 53 pitches.

“I don’t think the stuff was bad, just the command of it was not so good,” said manager Bob Melvin of Cahill’s rocky start.

But after Cahill departed, the Oakland bullpen kicked in as did the bats in a five-run, fifth inning that highlighted the A’s 7-3 win. Minus Cahill, the now familiar formula involving late offense and sting relief pitching rang true again. Are these A’s as hot as your grandmother’s A’s? Apparently so, they’ve won 53 of 74, the hottest the club has been in the last 20 years over a stretch that long.

When you’re this hot, and have this many buttons to push, a Cahill dud is quickly absorbed. And while Melvin acknowledges his club has way more answers than questions these days, it’s something that demands a discerning eye at all times.

“We were getting deeper contributions from the starters there for a while,” Melvin said. “Right now, maybe not so much, and we’re having to cover a lot of the game, but my feeling is that they’ll respond and they’ll start going deeper in games so we can cut down on the amount of relief we use.”

That Oakland resourcefulness kicked over to the offense in the fifth, when the A’s did a little of this, and took a little of that in fashioning their five-run explosion. Matt Olson and Ramon Laureno provided the explosiveness with a double each, Nick Martini’s infield hit scored a run, and then a second when Roughned Odor threw the ball away. Three other batters walked, including Matt Joyce to load the bases with two outs, and the Rangers contributed as well with Odor’s error and Ariel Jurado’s wild pitch.

The one you probably don’t focus on is the Joyce at-bat. And that ended up probably being the biggest at-bat of the inning to load the bases with two outs.  If he makes an out, the inning’s over,” Melvin recounted. “A lot of guys contributed today, but Matt Joyce’s at-bat was huge.”

Like the A’s have done in recent weeks, the Rangers employed the featured reliever approach with Jurado as the guy scheduled to get the first and lengthiest relief stint. But this time, the strategy imploded as the A’s took off when Jurado entered.  The A’s weren’t expecting Cahill to pitch so poorly, but Melvin quickly turned to his bullpen with seven guys making appearances after the starter departed.

The A’s have used 23 different relievers this season, and with the addition of Ryan Dull to the active roster before Sunday’s game, Melvin has 15 at his disposal currently. Blake Treinen remains the unquestioned star of relief, his one-inning stint closed Sunday’s contest, and the closer lowered his ERA to a Major League best 0.87.

Both the Yankees and Astros lost on Sunday, bringing the A’s within 2 1/2 games of both teams in their quest to host one or more playoff games.

“I think getting a home game here is very important,” said Stephen Piscotty, who homered in the seventh to provide insurance. “Get a playoff game in the Coliseum with our rowdy fans. I think that gives us a definite advantage.”

A’s outlast the Rangers 8-6 in a slugfest on Saturday at the Coliseum

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

IMG_0702

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics’ 61-0 winning streak when they held a lead after seven innings was on the line Saturday versus the Texas Rangers. The A’s had a 6-4 lead after seven innings, but Texas veteran third baseman Adrian Beltre had other ideas about Oakland continuing that winning streak.

Beltre came to bat in the top of the eighth inning with teammate Nomar Mazara at first and his team trailing by two runs. With the count at 0-2, Beltre hit a Fernando Rodney pitch down the left-field line into the seats for a two-run home run to tie the game at 6-6. It was home run No. 11 of the season for Beltre and his second of the game (his first multiple home run game of the season). The crowd of 20,504 became very concerned.

The Rangers brought RHP Chris Martin into the game from the bullpen. The first batter he had to face was Matt Olson who entered the game in the seventh inning for Mark Canha. Olson hit the 0-1 pitch from Martin over the fence in left field for his 25th home run of the year to give the A’s a 7-5 lead. After Chad Pinder flied out, Jonathan Lucroy singled. Ramon Laureano struck out for the second out of the inning. Matt Chapman, who leads the majors in doubles since the All-Star Break, hit an RBI-double to right field that allowed Lucroy to score the A’s eighth run of the game to give them an 8-6 lead.

The A’s went to the top of the ninth with an 8-6 lead which meant it was “Treinen Time.” Treinen took the mound and struck out the first two hitters he faced. Shin-Soo Choo then stepped into the batter’s box and hit a soft line drive to Marcus Semien for the final out of the game.

The A’s won the game 8-6 and upped their record for the season to 86-57. They have now won three consecutive games and have guaranteed that they will win this series with the Rangers. The A’s are now 11-0-2 in their previous 13 home series which is the longest single-season home series unbeaten streak in Oakland history.

Ryan Buchter (4-0) received credit for the victory and Blake Treinen of the A’s picked up his 37th save. Chris Martin (1-4) of the Rangers was hung with the loss.

The Astros beat the Red Sox on Saturday 5-3 in Boston so the A’s will stay 3.5 games back of Houston. The Mariners host the Yankees on Saturday night.

Bob Melvin analyzes the game

Performances worth remembering

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  • Khris Davis hit his 41st home run of the season in the home half of the first inning. He now has 10 round-trippers off Rangers pitching.
  • Jed Lowrie hit his 36th double of the year in this contest, which ties him with Nick Swisher for third most for switch hitters in A’s history.
  • Stephen Piscotty doubled in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
  • Matt Olson’s 25 home runs lead the American League for most HR’s by a first baseman.
  • Chad Pinder hit his 11th home run of 2018 in the sixth inning – a solo shot.
  • The Rangers Shin-Soo Choo has reached base in 15 out of 17 games versus the A’s this year.
  • Jurickson Profar hit his 16th home run of the season in the fourth inning off Jackson.

Pitching was a group effort in this game

A’s

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  • Starter Edwin Jackson was credited for just 3.0 innings and was dinged for four runs (all earned) off five hits. He struck out five and walked just one but gave up two home runs.
  • Shawn Kelley was back after his kitchen accident and pitched a perfect inning with two K’s.
  • Lou Trivino worked a perfect inning of relief.
  • Fernando Rodney was charged with blown save for giving up the two-run shot to Beltre.
  • The A’s used eight pitchers.
  • Oakland pitching gave up six runs (all earned) off six hits. They walked just one batter. A’s pitchers struck out 12 Texas hitters. They did give up three home runs.

Rangers

  • The Rangers used five pitchers in the game.
  • All but one of those hurlers gave up at least one earned one. Ouch!
  • Eddie Butler was the only reliever not to give up a run.
  • Texas pitchers gave up eight runs (all earned) on nine hits. They struck out seven and walked six. The Rangers also issued three home runs to A’s hitters.

Up next

The series wraps tomorrow at 1:05 PM when the Rangers send RHP Ariel Jurado (2-4, 6.00) to the mound to face the A’s RHP Trevor Cahill (6-3, 3.60).

Laureano Better Than Big Mac, Canseco in A’s 8-4 Win over Texas

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SportingGreenSF

By: Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND–Just think where the Oakland Athletics might be if they’d called Ramon Laureano up sooner. Maybe a 3.5 game division deficit is actually a division lead at this time. The 24 year old rookie has won games for the A’s with his glove, his arm, his baserunning and his bat since getting the call August 3rd and Friday night was no different.

The speedy center fielder became the first Athletic to have two multi-homer games in his first thirty big league appearances, going deep twice in the A’s 8-4 win over the Rangers at the Coliseum on Friday night. He joins the Bash Brothers, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco as the only players in A’s history to accomplish the feat in the first 50 games of their careers.

The A’s needed the win with the Astros rallying past the Red Sox and the New York Yankees dispatching of the team directly below the A’s in the Wild Card standings. A loss would have pushed Oakland 4 1/2 games back of each team. The A’s pounced on Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo, plating five runs of him in just 4 1/3 innings.

Laureano put the Rangers on the ropes in his first at bat of the game, working his way into the leadoff spot after earning manager Bob Melvin’s trust over a first cup of coffee that includes a .309 batting average in 81 at-bats. Laureano rewarded his manager with a solo shot to center field, his 4th homer of the year already, to give the A’s a 1-0 lead just one batter into their licks at the dish.

Marcus Semien hit his 12th long ball of the season with a runner on in the bottom of the 2nd inning, then the rally continued till Matt Chapman’s two-run single made it 5-0 A’s.

Joey Gallo did what he does best, crushing two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the top of the 4th. Bassitt, the second man out of the pen after Liam Hendriks served as “opener” once again, allowed three runs over his three innings of work.

Yusmeiro Petit was credited with the win for his work pitching the fifth and sixth innings despite the A’s already being up 5-2. He got some major run support when Laureano blasted another solo shot, this time off reliever Adrian Sampson. Sampson would get tagged for another pair after an error and three straight singles put Oakland up 8-3.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the A’s. Fernando Rodney labored for his appearance in the seventh inning. He gave up one run, his fourth of September in just 2 2/3 innings and it could have been much worse. Ronald Guzman hit a ball that appeared to hit the top of the wall in right, but was ruled a double and scored only one run. Rodney walked the bases loaded with two outs, but Ryan Buchter came in and got the deep fly out from Rougned Odor to escape the big inning.

Jeurys Familia also struggled in his inning of work after getting one out, but giving up a hit to Nomar Mazara, a walk to Adrian Beltre and an RBI double to  Gallo to pull Texas within four at 8-4. He’d get the final to outs and turn the game over to the closer Blake Treinen. Treinen, a dark horse Cy Young candidate, finished off the ninth in his usual dominant fashion to give the A’s the final 8-4 lead.

The A’s and Rangers will continue their series with game two on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

The A’s will send one of their few true starters to the hill, Edwin Jackson, a journeyman with a 5-3 record and 2.91 ERA. He’s locked in a battle with Mike Fiers to determine who will pitch in the one-game playoff come October if needed. He’ll be opposed by Yohander Mendez, a southpaw with a 1-1 record and 5.59 ERA.

A’s to host Rangers in weekend series starting Friday night

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Photo credit: markmoneyhoffman.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s will host the Texas Rangers at the Coliseum for three games beginning Friday night. It will be the final time the teams will meet this season.

The Rangers find themselves in last place in the AL West with a 61-79 record. The Rangers had hoped to have had a better record as they put together a lineup with hitters that could put runs on the board. On the other hand, their pitching could not keep the other team from putting more runs on the board.

The A’s, who have an off-day on Thursday, after 20 consecutive games, find themselves in a race for either one of two possibilities. The A’s are 3.5 games behind the Houston Astros in the race for first place in the AL West.

If the A’s were to win the division, they would not have to play in the one-game playoff between the two Wild Card teams. They are also 3.5 games behind the New York Yankees for the first Wild Card slot. The first Wild Card hosts the game at their home park. If the A’s finish in the second spot, they would have to fly to New York for the game.

Also, history is not on the side of the second Wild Card. The home team usually, but not always, prevails when the one-game playoff is held at their home stadium.

The A’s have a lot to play for this weekend. While they have successfully handled the Rangers so far this year, they cannot take them lightly. The Rangers would love nothing more than upsetting the A’s apple cart.

Below are the A’s and Rangers pitching matchups:

On Friday night, The A’s will send Chris Bassitt to the hill. Bassitt has pitched well at times, but he has not been as consistent as the team had hoped. However, in his last start against Minnesota, he went 4 2/3 innings and allowed one run. The A’s could potentially use an “opener” when a bullpen pitcher to start the game and then bring in Bassitt after the first or second innings.

The Rangers will counter with the veteran hurler Yovani Gallardo who has a 8-3 record and a 5.97 ERA. Gallardo beat the Twins 7-4 in his last start. His line was pitched five innings and gave up three runs. Gallardo has a 5-2 record with a 4.07 ERA in his last eight starts.

On Saturday, the A’s Edwin Jackson will pitch for the Green and Gold. Jackson has a 5-3 record and a 2.91 ERA so far this year. In his last start, Jackson went six innings and allowed just one run and three hits.

The Rangers will start Yohender Mendez. Mendez recorded his first MLB win last Sunday when he beat the Twins. He pitched six scoreless innings and allowed three hits while walking one and striking out three. He has a 1-1 record and a 5.59 ERA for the season.

On Sunday, Trevor Cahill will start for the A’s, and Texas has not yet announced their pitcher. Cahill has a 6-3 record and a 3.60 ERA. The big righty has pitched extremely well at the Coliseum this year. In his nine starts at home, he has a 5-0 record and a 1.09 ERA. He beat the Yankees last Monday before 41,000 fans. He allowed the Yanks’ three runs (two earned) and five hits while walking one and striking out three.

The A’s pitching will have their hands full as they try to stop the Rangers’ hitters. The Rangers’ infield consists of Ronald Guzman at first, Rougned Odor at second, Elvis Andrus at short, and Adrian Beltre at third. The Rangers’ outfield will be patrolled by Shin-Soo-Choo, Joey Gallo, and Nomar Mazara. Robinson Chirinos will handle the catching. Every one of these players can hit the ball out of the park.

The A’s also have big boppers. They have five guys that have hit 20 or more balls out of the park this season. Part-time players such as Mark Canha and Chad Pinder are in double figures in that department.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the A’s cannot let their guard down. The team knows what’s at stake and their manager Bob Melvin will prepare them. The A’s are 84-57 and have 21 games left to play. They have to keep winning, and they will need help from other teams if they are to move up in the standings.

The Boston Red Sox could really help the A’s as they host the Astros at Fenway Park this weekend, and have six more, three at home and three in New York, against the Yanks. The Red Sox would love nothing more than upsetting the Yanks’ apple cart.

The surprise team and feel good story of the 2018 season have been the A’s. The players know they are good and they are showing the world what they can do.

Holland beats his former team–Rangers–for the first time, 3-1

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Derek Holland faced his former team in the Texas Rangers for just the third time in his career, but it was a rookie that came up with the biggest hit of the game.

Steven Duggar hit a two-run triple that helped the San Francisco Giants defeat the Rangers 3-1 before a crowd of 39,260 at AT&T Park on Sunday afternoon.

Duggar’s triple off of Yovani Gallardo scored Hunter Pence and Nick Hundley with what proved to be the winning margin, as the Giants took two of three in a rematch of the 2010 World Series.

That triple was the first of Duggar’s career.

Gallardo got the first two batters out in that fateful fourth inning, but Pence singled and then Hundley walked before Duggar launched a Gallardo pitch into Triples Alley to give the Giants the lead for good.

Holland went 6.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits, while walking three and striking out four, as he won for the seventh time on the season.

This was the first career win for Holland against the team that drafted him in the 25th round of the 2006 Major League Draft. Holland played his first eight seasons with the Rangers, where he went 62-50 with a 4.35 earned run average in 179 games (158 starts).

The 158 starts by Holland with the Rangers is the eighth-most in Rangers history, and his 62 wins are the ninth-most.

Evan Longoria got the Giants going in the bottom of the first inning, as he tripled to the appropriately named ‘Triples Alley,” and then Brandon Belt singled to score Longoria. As for Longoria, that was his third triple of the season, the most for him since the 2013 season, when he also hit three.

The Rangers tied it up in the top of the third inning, as Elvis Andrus hit a double to left field that Hunter Pence bobbled in left field to allow Rougned Odor to score the tying run for the Rangers.

Following the Andrus double that tied up the game, Brandon Crawford came up with the defensive play of the game, as Adrian Beltre hit a ball into the hole that looked like it was going into left field; however, Crawford dove for the ball, got up and was able to throw out Beltre to keep the score tied at one. Not only did Crawford make another fantastic play, but Brandon Belt dug the ball out of the dirt for the final out of the inning that kept Andrus from scoring the potential go-ahead run.

That was the only hit that Holland would allow until he gave up two in the top of the seventh inning.

Duggar gave the Giants the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth inning, as his triple scored the eventual winning runs for the Giants.

Holland got into a bit of a jam in that seventh inning, as he gave up two hits in the top of the seventh inning; however, both Joey Gallo and Isiah Kiner-Falefa were stranded at third base, when Tony Watson struck out Robinson Chirinos and then got Odor out on an attempted bunt to end the inning.

Without the services of usual closer Will Smith, Mark Melancon came on to finish the game, and despite the fact that he gave up a pinch-hit single to Shin-Soo Choo with one out in the top of the ninth inning, Melancon was able to get the last two batters for his third save of the season.

NOTES: Buster Posey will undergo season-ending hip surgery on Monday in Vail, Colorado to repair a damaged labrum and remove bone spurs in his right hip.

Posey was placed on the 10-day disabled list, and to replace Posey on the roster will be Aramis Garcia, who was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.

This was the first time that Melancon picked up back-to-back saves in consecutive games since May 19 and 20, 2017 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

By winning the series finale against the Rangers, the Giants won their 65th game of the season, surpassing their total of 64 from just one year ago.

UP NEXT: The Giants host the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three-game series starting Monday night at 7:15 pm PDT.

Giants’ Chris Stratton will look for his ninth win of the season on Monday night, as he takes the mound against Patrick Corbin of the D-Backs, who is looking for his 11th win of the season for the Diamondbacks.

Crawford and Pence go deep in the Giants’ 5-3 win over the Rangers

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — What is that old saying by Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra? “It is like Déjà vu all over again.”

After jumping out to a 4-0 lead after the bottom of the first inning, the San Francisco Giants were forced to hold onto the victory after nearly blowing it in the end and ended up with the 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers before a crowd of 40,287 at AT&T Park on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s really incredible how similar the two games were but we found a way to get the last out today,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Torture was back.”

Brandon Crawford came up with the big hit in the bottom of the first inning, as he smashed a three-run home run off of Martin Perez. It was the 12th home run of the season for Crawford.

Andrew McCutchen got the ball rolling for the Giants in the bottom of the first inning, as he doubled to left field to lead off the bottom of the first. It was the second straight day that McCutchen came up with an extra base hit to lead off the game.

After the McCutchen double, Brandon Belt then singled and then Evan Longoria drove in the first Giants run of the afternoon, as he hit a sacrifice fly that scored McCutchen from third base. Brandon Belt came up with the heads up play of the game early on, as he went to second on the Longoria sacrifice fly.

Nick Hundley then walked, and then Perez was able to get Austin Slater to line out to Nomar Mazara in right field, and then Crawford launched his home run over the right-center field wall.

Andrew Suarez bounced back from two tough starts, as he went seven strong innings, allowing zero runs on three hits, walked three batter and struck out five on his way to his fifth win of the season.

“This whole week I looked at old video just to see what could get me going again,” Suarez said. “Once I know I’m getting a lot of groundballs I know that’s when I’m in my game.”

Despite allowing those four runs in the bottom of the first inning, Perez ended up pitching a good game, as he allowed four runs on five hits, walking one and striking out four in five innings of work.

After that fateful first inning, where Perez gave up four runs on three hits and walked one, he then settled down, as he allowed two hits and struck out four in his final four innings of work.

Hunter Pence lengthened the Giants lead up to 5-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he hit a pinch-hit home run off of former Giants teammate Matt Moore.

It’s very important to continue to send that message of relentless attack,” Pence said. “Even where we are and as clouded as it may seem, you still never know. When there’s still a chance in this game of baseball, things can get hot in an instant.”

Things began to get interesting in the top of the eighth inning, as after Hunter Strickland was able to get the first two outs of the inning, then it got weird for the second day in a row.

Joey Gallo reached when Slater was unable to close hid glove on the potential third out of the inning, then Shin-Soo Choo singled Gallo to right field and then Rougned Odor launched a three-run home run onto the Arcade to get the Rangers within two runs. Strickland was able to regroup, and get Elvis Andrus to ground out to end the inning.

The ninth inning was no better for the Giants, as closer Will Smith came on for the third straight day and got the first out, but then Jurickson Profar walked and then Robinson Chirinos beat out an infield single and then Smith uncorked a wild pitch that sent the potential tying run into scoring position; however, Smith was able to get Adrian Beltre to strikeout for the second out of the inning.

Smith was unable to end it without some drama, as he walked pinch-hitter Isiah Kiner-Falefa and that was end of the day for Smith.

Mark Melancon came on to end the game, as he pinch-hitter Carlos Perez to fly out to Slater end the game. It was the second save of the season for Melancon, and the first since June 21 against the San Diego Padres.

NOTES: Odor’s home run in the top of the eighth inning was the seventh home run allowed by the Giants bullpen since in the last 10 games.

With the two home runs by Crawford and Pence, this was the first time that the Giants hit more than one home run in a game since June 19 against the Miami Marlins.

That was just the second pinch hit home run of Pence’s career, the only previous one was on June 18, 2017 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

Buster Posey will miss the rest of the season, as he will undergo hip surgery in Colorado on Monday. Posey will miss the next six to eight months.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Rangers conclude their series with a finale on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

Derek Holland looks his seventh win of the season for the Giants, while Yovani Gallardo tries for his eighth win for the Rangers.