Texas Rangers Slug Their Way to Win Over A's

Seemingly every offensive player we even mentioned on the Texas Rangers in our series preview went deep against Osvaldo Bido in Tuesday's opener. The A's starter allowed four home runs in total, after allowing just one in his first four starts combined. This was also his first night game at Sutter Health Park, when the ball has a tendency to fly a little more.

The offensive onslaught by the Rangers bumped Bido's ERA on the year from a crisp 2.61 to 4.85.

Texas scored twice in the first with Josh Smith drawing a walk and then Wyatt Langford singling before Adolis García cranked an RBI double to left to score the game's first run. That was followed up by a Marcus Semien sac-fly, before Bido got Joc Pederson looking to end the frame.

The A's would answer back with a solo homer from Miguel Andujar in the bottom of the second, cutting the deficit to 2-1, but Langford would smack his fifth homer of the season in the top of the third. In the bottom of the inning, Lawrence Butler provided his first home run at Sutter Health Park to again make it a one-run game.

It was in the fifth that the Rangers opened this one up. After Bido worked a scoreless fourth, he gave up a solo homer to Smith to lead off the fifth. Bido would strike out Langford swinging, but Corey Seager and García singled, setting the stage for former Athletic Marcus Semien.

He came into this game batting just .141, and Tuesday was his first game out of the leadoff spot all season in a game that he has started. He responded, swatting a three-run home run to break this one open and putting his team ahead 7-2 at that point.

Jake Burger led off the sixth with a solo homer of his own, number three on the year, but Bido was left in to get one more out before giving way to left-hander T.J. McFarland. Bido's final line: 5.1 innings, eight hits, eight runs, three walks, and two strikeouts.

He just wasn't as crisp in this start, with his three walks being the most he's allowed since his first start in Seattle when he gave up four free passes. All four home runs were in the middle of the plate.

The A's bullpen combined for 3.2 scoreless innings of work, giving up just two hits and three walks while striking out five.

The A's would make the final score a bit closer in the seventh when JJ Bleday singled home Brent Rooker from third. Rooker and Luis Urías would add solo home runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it 8-5, but that was as far as the rally would go on Tuesday night. The Athletics dropped game one, 8-5.

Former Ranger José Leclerc got into the game in the seventh, struck out García swinging, and was immediately pulled from the game with a right shoulder injury. According to Martín Gallegos of MLB.com, the injury is more of a strain than soreness. He'll undergo further testing on Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury.

If he were to miss any time, the A's have two right-handed relief options in the minors that are already on the 40-man in Grant Holman and Elvis Alvarado. Holman was with the A's for a bit last season, posting a 4.02 ERA (3.87 FIP) in 15.2 innings of work. Alvarado is a hard-throwing addition to the depth of the club that has posted a 4.50 ERA (3.72 FIP) with Triple-A Las Vegas this season.

Alvarado has yet to make his big-league debut, and Holman has yet to allow a run in the minors this year across 9.1 innings of work. He also held a 0.55 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A last season that led to him being brought up in the first place.

Not only has he not allowed a run this season, but he's also allowed just one hit and one walk, giving him a 0.036 batting average against and a 0.21 WHIP.

Tomorrow, we'll see the debut of No. 1 prospect Nick Kurtz in the green and gold, which will lead to a corresponding move being made on the roster to make room for the first base slugger.