The Athletics scored twice in the first inning, then made those two runs hold all afternoon.
Carlos Cortes delivered a two-run triple, Justin Sterner escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, and the A’s beat the Rangers 2-1 on Sunday at Globe Life Field. The win gave the Athletics the series and pushed them one game ahead of Texas in the AL West.
Cortes struck first
The A’s did not need much offense, but Cortes gave them enough early.
Tyler Soderstrom walked with two outs in the first, and Brent Rooker followed with another walk. Then Cortes lined a triple to center, scoring both runners for a 2-0 lead.
That swing became the game.
The Athletics had chances to add on, finishing with 10 hits and four walks. However, they went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base.
The jam that saved it
Texas finally pushed across a run in the sixth.
Josh Jung doubled, then scored when Jacob Lopez made a throwing error on Evan Carter’s sacrifice bunt. Jake Burger walked, and Josh Smith followed with a bunt single to load the bases with nobody out.
Then Sterner took over and changed the inning.
He struck out Danny Jansen, struck out Sam Haggerty and got Brandon Nimmo to line out to center. That kept the A’s in front, 2-1, and turned the game back toward the bullpen.
Perkins closed the door
J.T. Ginn started and worked 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, walked one and struck out two before Joel Kuhnel finished the fourth.
After that, Lopez allowed one run in the sixth before Sterner cleaned up the mess. Hogan Harris handled a scoreless seventh, and Jack Perkins took it from there.
Perkins worked the final two innings for his second save. He allowed one hit, struck out three and retired Corey Seager on a groundout to end it.
Numbers that mattered
Cortes finished 3-for-4 with a triple and both A’s RBIs. Shea Langeliers went 2-for-5, and Soderstrom doubled, walked twice and scored once.
The Rangers went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. That matched the A’s missed chances, but Texas never found the hit Sterner denied in the sixth.
The Athletics improved to 15-13 and moved one game ahead of the Rangers. It is still early, but the series win gave the A’s another small bit of separation in a tight AL West.
Up next
The Athletics return home Monday to open a series against the Royals at Sutter Health Park. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. PT.
Jacob Lopez is scheduled to start for the A’s against Kansas City left-hander Kris Bubic. Lopez enters at 2-1 with a 5.84 ERA, while Bubic is 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA.
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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.
