OAKLAND, Calif. — Starling Marte’s positive first impression in Oakland only got stronger with a four-hit performance in the Oakland A’s 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon. The win sealed a series sweep of the sinking Rangers and put them just two games back of Houston with the Astros losing to the Minnesota Twins.
Two overturned calls and some timely hits led to a three-run first inning for the A’s. With one out, Starling Marte laid down a perfectly placed bunt single. Marte was called out stealing second base, but the call was overturned, giving Marte his league-leading 29th stolen base (7th with the A’s) and putting him in position for Jed Lowrie’s RBI single.
Lowrie scored on Sean Murphy’s RBI double, but Harrison was called out at home trying to score from first. After review, Harrison was called safe to give the A’s a 3-1 lead.
Starling Marte went 4-for-5 with four singles, including a single that helped load the bases in the fourth, an opportunity the A’s could only get one run on with a Lowrie walk. Harrison hit into a double play to end the inning. Marte’s fourth hit was an RBI single in the sixth inning that scored Mark Canha, who doubled off the wall in left-center.
Seth Brown — back in Oakland as the corresponding roster move with Ramón Laureano serving his 80-game suspension — hit his 13th home run, a solo blast 448-feet into right field against the winds.
James Kaprielian made his first start back from the injured list, a stint that forced him to skip one start. He was strong, tossing six innings with two earned runs allowed.
The first run came in the first inning when Adolis Garcia and Nate Lowe hit back-to-back doubles. Kaprielian retired the next 11 batters he faced before walking Brock Holt with one out in the fifth inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa tripled to start the sixth inning and scored on a sacrifice fly.
Kaprielian was pulled after throwing 84 pitches with four strikeouts and two walks and just those three hits allowed.
Andrew Chafin pitched his sixth straight scoreless appearance with the A’s in the seventh inning. Yusmeiro Petit gave up a home run to Kiner-Falefa in the eighth inning and walked Garcia before Jake Diekman took over to tackle left-handed hitter Lowe, who struck him out after falling behind 3-0 to end the inning.
