The Athletics made Texas sweat late, but a brutal second inning proved too much to outrun in a 7-6 loss Thursday at Surprise Stadium.
Oakland dropped to 9-11 this spring despite outhitting the Rangers 12-7. The difference was one inning, when Texas turned a 1-0 deficit into a 6-1 lead and forced the A’s to spend the rest of the afternoon chasing.
Muncy stays hot
Max Muncy gave the A’s an early spark with a solo homer in the first, his third of the spring. He later added a single and scored twice, continuing one of the hotter runs in camp.
Henry Bolte answered with a solo shot in the third, his second of the spring, to keep Oakland within striking distance. Leo De Vries added two hits, including an RBI double, while Michael Stefanic chipped in an RBI single off the bench.
The inning that wrecked it
Everything swung in the second.
Texas loaded the bases with two outs, then Willie MacIver cleared them with a three-run double to left. Ryan Magdic entered, but Wyatt Langford followed with a three-run homer to left-center, and suddenly the Rangers were up 6-1.
That was the inning that decided the day. Oakland kept punching, but the hole was too deep.
Clawing back, almost
The A’s did not go quietly.
An RBI groundout from Colby Thomas and a run-scoring single by De Vries pulled Oakland within 6-4 in the sixth. Brian Serven added a sacrifice fly in the seventh, then Stefanic drove in another in the eighth to trim it to 7-6.
The tying run reached in the ninth after Serven got on via error and Breyson Guedez followed with a single. However, Texas closer Luis Curvelo finished it from there and left the A’s one swing short.
Bullpen kept it alive
J.T. Ginn took the loss after allowing four runs in 4 2/3 innings, though the second-inning avalanche did most of the damage. After that, Oakland’s bullpen did enough to keep the game from getting away completely.
Joel Kuhnel allowed an unearned run in the seventh, but the rest of the relief group gave the lineup a chance to chase it down late. That kept the final few innings tense, even if the comeback stopped just shy.
Up next
The A’s head back to Hohokam Stadium on Friday to host the Padres. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. MST as Oakland tries to shake off this one and get back in the win column.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
