OAKLAND, Calif. _ The A's don't do much scoring early in games. They had only scored once in the first inning through 14 games coming in.
But the A's scored four runs at the expense of Texas Rangers pitcher Martin Perez in Wednesday's opening frame, which was more than enough support for an outstanding performance from starter Jesse Hahn in a 9-1 rout.
The first-inning binge began with two outs and a runner on third. Looking to avoid the powerful bat of Khris Davis, the Rangers walked him intentionally, bringing Ryon Healy to the plate.
Healy, who had pinch hits the last two nights after being benched because of a slow start to the season, started at third base and smacked a hard single up the middle to drive in Rajai Davis for the first run.
A two-run double from Josh Phegley and Yonder Alonso's RBI double down the right-field line gave Hahn an early 4-0 cushion.
Hahn could not have started the game any better. The right-hander retired the first six Rangers on only 17 pitches.
Aside from Joey Gallo's home run to lead off the fifth, Hahn was dominant over six innings as he allowed two hits and struck out four. The only trouble he really encountered came in the fourth when he got out of a two-on, one-out situation by striking out Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus.
After forcing Perez to throw 60 pitches in two innings, the A's offense was able to chase him after 32/3 innings.
While the Rangers escaped Khris Davis' bat in the first inning, they weren't so lucky in the fifth. Davis crushed a two-run home run off reliever Mike Hauschild to extend Oakland's lead to 6-1. The shot over the right-field wall was his seventh of the year and tied Davis with Houston's George Springer and Milwaukee's Eric Thames for the major league lead.
The A's flexed their muscles against Texas' bullpen, hitting home runs in three consecutive innings. Chad Pinder and Alonso added solo shots in the sixth and seventh inning.
Ryan Madson, Daniel Coulombe and Liam Hendriks combined for three innings of shutout relief, allowing only one hit. Coming off a poor performance over the weekend, the A's combined to go three innings without giving up a run for the second consecutive game.
For the first time in 11 games, the A's made it through a full afternoon without committing an error.
