OAKLAND — There was every reason to believe the Athletics would slink out of town having stalled the momentum of their two-game sweep of the Giants that featured enthusiastic, packed houses at the Coliseum.
Three rookies helped flip the script Wednesday against the A.L. West leading Texas Rangers. Second baseman Zack Gelof hit his sixth home run in 22 games, right-hander Freddy Tarnok got his first big league win and center fielder Esteury Ruiz created a run with his legs in a 2-0 win over the Rangers before a crowd of 6,372.
It was only a five-game homestand, but given the A’s hadn’t won a homestand all season, taking three of five was significant in the eyes of manager Mark Kotsay.
“It feels good to play against contending teams and be competitive,” Kotsay said. “We’ve done that through this homestand. That shows the incremental progress we’re trying to make and we’ve got some young guys on this club who weren’t here and are helping us. That’s a good sign.”
Texas, which began the day with a three-game lead in the A.L. West over Houston, dropped to 68-47. The highest-scoring team in baseball, the Rangers had just four hits against an A’s staff that entered with a 5.79 earned run average that is the worst in the majors.
The A’s bring a 33-82 record on a road swing to Washington and St. Louis and will be hard-pressed to avoid a painful bottom line in terms of losses. They’d have to go 22-25 over the last 47 games to finish with 107 losses — one less than the Oakland record of 108 losses in 1979.
The good news is Gelof has hit six home runs in 22 games since being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas. It’s the quickest in franchise history to six, exceeding Mitchell Page (1977) and Terence Long (2000) who each hit No. 6 in 25 games. In those 22 games, Gelof has had at least one extra-base hit 13 times.
ZACKY G 🚀 pic.twitter.com/sx9OSbIVLl
— Oakland A’s (@Athletics) August 9, 2023
He sounds as if he plans on being around awhile.
“I think what we’re realizing is this Texas Rangers team and everyone in our division is competitive, and they’ve got guys locked up for a long time, so it’s sink or swim here in this division,” Gelof said. “It starts now in our daily preparation and going out there and competing against these guys because we’re going to have to face them for years to come.”
The division has been a grind for the A’s to stay the least, as the win Wednesday improved their record to 6-28.
Gelof connected off starter and loser Jordan Montgomery (7-10) on a 1-0 pitch one at-bat after believing he had a shot at another home run in the third only to hit it off the end of the bat.
“When you hit the ball hard, good things happen, so that’s what I’m trying to do,” Gelof said. “Especially when you get in a hitter’s count, you try to get something in your zone and put a good swing on it. Hopefully, I’ll just keep it up.”
Earlier in that inning, the A’s scored on a “Ruiz Run” created by their fleet center fielder.
After drawing a one-out walk against Montgomery, Ruiz stole second and third on consecutive pitches — his 45th and 46th of the season — before Jonah Bride brought him home with a sacrifice fly.
They were the only two runs the A’s would need thanks to one of their best pitching games of the year from beginning to end.
Opener Austin Pruitt set the pace putting up two zeroes, then Tarnok gave up two hits and no runs with two walks and four strikeouts in four innings to get his first win, evening his record at 1-1. Tarnok was followed by Angel Felipe (1 1/3 innings) and Kirby Snead (two-thirds of an inning) before Trevor May survived a pair of two-out singles in the ninth to record his 12th save.
Tarnok, 24, was acquired in the deal with brought Ruiz to the A’s and sent Sean Murphy to the Braves, but spent much of the year rehabbing a shoulder strain. Before meeting with the media, he had to wring out some clothes after a shower celebration in honor of his first win.
“I got a little shower of multiple liquids, so it was great,” Tarnok said.
In all, A’s pitchers had three walks and 10 strikeouts.
“Everything’s a lot easier once you’re ahead of the batters,” Tarnok said. “You saw the whole bullpen today. When you get ahead it’s such an easier game for sure.
Having spent time playing in Las Vegas with Gelof, Tarnok said the home run binge is impressive but hardly shocking.
“He’s a beast. You can see it. The guy is nasty. He can play,” Tarnok said. “I was watching him tear it up down there so it’s not a surprise to me.”
NOTE: After a two-game series against the Giants attracted 64,934 fans, the three games against the Rangers drew a combined 15,804.