ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Brandon McCarthy thought he had a double play. Instead, the Texas Rangers had a successful squeeze bunt and the lead, and the Oakland A’s had a mess on their hands.

The A’s bounced back from the disputed sequence that ended with manager Bob Melvin ejected and McCarthy in the dugout, and Kila Ka’aihue had a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning to give Oakland a 5-4 victory against Texas on Thursday.

After Mitch Moreland’s second home run off McCarthy tied the score in the sixth inning, the Rangers took the lead when speedster Craig Gentry broke from third as Elvis Andrus popped up a bunt between the mound and home plate. McCarthy thought he caught the ball on the fly and threw to third for what he figured would be a double play, but home plate umpire Laz Diaz ruled he trapped it. Gentry was ruled safe for a 4-3 Texas lead, and Oakland didn’t get anybody out.

Melvin ran from the dugout to argue, gesturing repeatedly at Diaz before he was finally thrown out. Replays were inconclusive.

”I threw the ball to third. Then he said I trapped it. I said, ‘What?’ and sort of flew off the handle,” McCarthy said. ”I was pretty furious once the disbelief set in.”

Reliever Grant Balfour replaced McCarthy after the disputed bunt and didn’t give up a run even though the Rangers had men at second and third with one out. Oakland then tied the score again in the seventh on Josh Reddick’s 10th home run. The shot into the Rangers bullpen in right-center field ended Texas reliever Alexi Ogando’s scoreless streak at 15 1-3 innings.

”That was a huge momentum swing,” Melvin said. ”They have the lead, with guys who have had a lot of success in the bullpen. It was a huge pick-me-up for us.”

The Rangers had runners at first and third with one out in the ninth but couldn’t score off Ryan Cook (1-0), who picked up his first major league win and has 19 2-3 scoreless innings this season, most among AL relievers.

Michael Young reached on a two-base error by Josh Donaldson and went to third on a groundout. Nelson Cruz struck out between intentional walks to David Murphy and Mike Napoli, then Brandon Snyder grounded out with the bases loaded. Texas ended up stranding 14 runners.

”That situation with a man on second and nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, you just have to figure out a way to let nobody score,” Cook said.

Ka’aihue’s winning hit off Mike Adams (0-2) drove in Jonny Gomes, who had three hits.

Moreland pulled Texas to 3-2 with a two-run homer just over the left field fence in fourth and tied it with a deeper shot to right in the sixth. He has six homers.

Josh Hamilton watched both of those from the dugout and was supposed to have the day off. He came on as a pinch-hitter and stayed in the game in center field. He made the first out in the eighth and 10th innings, ending his AL-best 16-game hitting streak.

Moreland never got a chance for a third home run. Manager Ron Washington decided to replace him in the seventh with Snyder when Oakland went to left-handed reliever Jordan Norberto. Snyder flied out to right with the go-ahead run at second and ended up missing on two chances to give to the Rangers the lead.

”I always want to play,” Moreland said. ”He’s the manager. He makes the decision.”

McCarthy gave up eight hits and four runs in 5 1-3 innings, with three walks and four strikeouts.

Matt Harrison allowed the first five batters to reach base in a three-run Oakland first inning before pitching four shutout frames. He allowed at least one hit in all five innings, then was replaced by Mark Lowe after striking out Ka’aihue to start the sixth.

Harrison allowed eight hits and three runs in 5 1-3 innings. He walked three and struck out three.

Kurt Suzuki had a two-run double in the first for Oakland after Gomes drove in the first run with a double.

NOTES: Oakland put 3B Brandon Inge on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right groin. The move was retroactive to Sunday. He started the season on the DL when he was still with Detroit. That time it was a strained left groin. … Inge’s replacement, Adam Rosales, started at 1B after getting recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and reached base in all four at-bats, his first of the season. He had three walks and a single. … Oakland’s Jemile Weeks was caught stealing on Harrison’s pickoff move in the first inning, ending Oakland’s streak of 20 straight successful stolen bases. That was two shy of the club record. … RHP Joe Nathan pitched on three consecutive days for the first time since joining the Rangers. He had a perfect ninth.

Yesterday I wrote a preview article for the Rangers/Athletics series and I said that unless Matt Harrison returned to form the Rangers would lose the second game and end up splitting the series. Well it happened. Harrison struggled in the first inning giving up three runs and putting Texas in an early hole that they would eventually climb out of only to see it all disappear in a 5-4 extra innings loss.

I’m having a hard time figuring out what has happened to Harrison. When the season began I felt that he was the best left-handed pitcher on the staff if not the best overall pitcher (this was before I knew what Yu Darvish would do). His 5.21 ERA is last on the staff as is his 1.45 WHIP. He’s either having really bad mechanical problems or he has an undisclosed injury. I don’t know. I do know that my faith in him is currently waning.

Michael Young? I have no publishable words to describe how I feel about him after he went 0-for-6 today leaving four men on. Young has been struggling of late though I do believe he will come out of this slump eventually.

Then there’s the Mitch Moreland debate. After going 2-for-2 with two home runs, 3 RBI and a walk manager Ron Washington decided to pinch hit for him rather than have him stay in and face a lefty reliever. I realize that sometimes you have to play percentages in certain situations but with the bases loaded you do not pull your hottest bat because statistics say it’s wise. Snyder ended up 0-for-2 with four runners left stranded.

I’m not mad. I’m just frustrated as are most fans.

Now I would like to discuss another matter of the game. In the sixth inning Elvis Andrus laid down a squeeze bunt that actually popped up in the air and was caught by A’s pitcher Brandon McCarthy. Home plate umpire Laz Diaz ruled that McCarthy had “trapped” the ball and that it was not a catch. It resulted in Craig Gentry scoring from third.

Brandon’s wife, Amanda, had been live tweeting the game and commented on the play with some colorful language that suddenly caused some Rangers fans to attack her. Okay, I realize that she is a player’s wife but she is also a “fan” and the language she used I hear all the time at games and from fans on Twitter. She had every right to express herself the way she did, even more so since she was right about the call.

On behalf of all of the thousands of decent fans I would like to apologize to her. She’s lived here before and I’m confident that she knows not all fans are that way.

By the way, if you don’t already follow her and her husband on Twitter you should. They are a very funny couple and I liked Brandon when he was with Texas. (@BMcCarthy32 and @Mrs_McCarthy32)

With that said it’s time to begin interleague play as the Rangers are set to face the Houston Astros in Houston. I just hope the bats wake up after a lackluster 3-4 home stand.

Until next time, I’ll see you in the cheap seats!

James Holland is a lifelong fan of baseball and his hometown Texas Rangers. He is also a senior columnist for shutdowninning.com, the founder of clawandantlernation.com and a member of SABR. You can follow him on Twitter where he waxes poetic about all things baseball @SDIJamesHolland.

Sources:

http://texasrangers.com

http://twitter.com

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Oakland A’s overcame two home runs from Mitch Moreland and a controversial call to beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 in 10 innings Thursday afternoon at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Oakland scored the go-ahead run on Kila Ka’aihue’s single to right off Texas reliever Mike Adams, scoring Jonny Gomes with one out. Gomes led off the 10th with an infield hit. The second-place A’s (20-19) pulled within four games of Texas (24-19) in the American League West with the two-game series split. The Rangers had beaten Oakland in 13 of their previous 15 meetings. “We’ve struggled a little bit here,” said Oakland manager Bob Melvin, who was ejected in the sixth inning. “We lose a game here (Wednesday) when we didn’t play great, and we come back and deal with some adversity and such and get some big hits, and everyone contributes.” The A’s jumped on Texas starter Matt Harrison early. Three hits, including Kurt Suzuki’s two-run double, provided Oakland starter Brandon McCarthy with a 3-0 lead before he ever stepped on the mound. Harrison settled down from there, while the Rangers finally got to McCarthy in the fourth. Moreland went the opposite way with a two-run blast to left to slice the Oakland lead to 3-2. “He gave up three runs in the first inning. He kept us in the ballgame,” Texas manager Ron Washington said of Harrison. “He gave us a chance to get back in the game, and we did. And we took the lead. I’ll take that situation anytime going forward.” Moreland wasn’t done. The first baseman drilled a solo shot to right to tie the game in the sixth off McCarthy, a former Texas starter. It also marked the fourth career multi-home run game for Moreland. Craig Gentry followed with a double. Ian Kinsler singled Gentry to third before Texas took the lead with a controversial call that left Oakland fuming. Elvis Andrus squared to bunt, but instead of getting the ball down, it popped up short of the mound. McCarthy, all 6-foot-7 of him, dove, and replays appeared to show he got his glove under the ball. Home plate umpire Laz Diaz ruled the ball hit the ground, so instead of a double-play, Gentry scored to take a 4-3 lead. Melvin came out to argue the call to no avail and was tossed by Diaz. “I threw the ball to third,” McCarthy said. “Then he said I trapped it. I said, ‘What?’ and sort of flew off the handle. I was pretty furious once the disbelief set in.” Oakland didn’t dwell on the tough break for long. Josh Reddick smashed one into the Rangers’ bullpen in the seventh off reliever Alexi Ogando to knot the score at 4-4. It was the first home run and second run allowed by Ogando this season. The Rangers did have Michael Young at third with one out in the ninth, but weren’t able to get him home. Washington was asked if the loss was one of the more frustrating of the season. “I wouldn’t call it frustrating. That’s harsh,” he said. “Those guys have delivered so much in those situations. It’s a tough loss, but it’s not frustrating because we still have a lot of games on the schedule. “You can’t get frustrated with one game, because that frustration ends up just snowballing. We’ve just got to come out and play ball and take advantage of opportunities. And we’re going to do that.” Texas completed its seven-game homestand at 3-4 and heads out on a six-game road trip beginning with three at instate rival Houston on Friday. The A’s return to the Bay Area to begin a three-game series Friday at San Francisco. NOTES: Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton didn’t start Thursday, but came in as a pinch hitter in the eighth. Currently the American League leader in each of the Triple Crown categories, Hamilton had his 16-game hitting streak snapped. … Oakland third baseman Brandon Inge (groin) was placed on 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Sunday. The A’s recalled infielder Adam Rosales from Triple-A Sacramento to replace Inge. … Oakland also brought up left-handed reliever Travis Blackley and optioned Andrew Carignan to A Sacramento. Blackley was claimed off waivers from San Francisco on Tuesday. … Texas owns the largest division lead in the AL at 4.0 games. … The attendance of 47,182 was the 13th sellout of this season, which is the third most in club history.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) The Texas Rangers were set for a rare weekday afternoon sellout, fueled by thousands of schoolchildren getting a break from their routine.

Manager Ron Washington figures the kids would like to see Josh Hamilton in October, too, so he sat Hamilton and stuck with his plan to rest his key starters.

Hamilton was out of Thursday’s starting lineup against Oakland, his first absence since a hot streak that vaulted him to the major league lead in all three Triple Crown categories. He was the last of five Rangers players to sit during a four-game stretch that ended against the A’s.

”It was as simple as it was to give the rest of them a day off,” Washington said. ”Those are the guys that’s going to take us where we have to go.”

The crowd of 47,182 did get a chance to see Hamilton when he appeared as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. He grounded out, then replaced Craig Gentry in center field in the ninth. He ended up making the first out in the eighth and 10th innings, ending his AL-best 16-game hitting streak.

The former AL MVP has cooled off some since hitting .467 (14 of 30) with two doubles, nine homers and 18 RBIs over seven games. The run was sparked by the 16th four-homer game in major league history May 8 at Baltimore.

Homerless in his past five games, Hamilton is still leading the AL in average (.399), homers (18) and RBIs (45).

During a pair of two-game series against Kansas City and Oakland, Rangers manager Ron Washington has already rested Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Mike Napoli and Nelson Cruz. The Rangers were swept by the Royals but had a chance to sweep the A’s on Thursday.

Texas is in the middle of a stretch of 20 games in 20 days. The Rangers got a break with a rainout in Baltimore last week, but had to play a doubleheader the next day. Their next scheduled off day is May 24.

”I’m not used to days off,” said Young, who sat Wednesday and was the DH in Hamilton’s traditional third spot in the order Thursday. ”I like to get out there every day. But rest if always a good thing.”

Hamilton, who didn’t appear in the clubhouse when it was open to reporters before Thursday’s game, left early April 29 against Tampa Bay because of back spasms. He missed the next three games at Toronto, but his absence appeared precautionary because the Rangers were playing a rare series on artificial turf.

The four-time All-Star played only 89 games in 2009 because of an abdominal tear and a pinched nerve in his back. He missed a month of his MVP season in 2010 with broken ribs after crashing into an outfield wall making a catch. He was out six weeks last year after he broke a bone in his arm diving headfirst trying to score on a foul popout, and had surgery for a sports hernia after the World Series.

Hamilton led the AL with 130 RBIs in 2008, his first season with the Rangers. He led the league with a .359 average in 2010, when the Rangers won their first AL pennant.

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Oakland A’s overcame two home runs from Mitch Moreland and a controversial call to beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 in 10 innings Thursday afternoon at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Oakland scored the go-ahead run on Kila Ka’aihue’s single to right off Texas reliever Mike Adams, scoring Jonny Gomes with one out. Gomes led off the 10th with an infield hit. The second-place A’s (20-19) pulled within four games of Texas (24-19) in the American League West with the two-game series split. The Rangers had beaten Oakland in 13 of their previous 15 meetings. The A’s jumped on Texas starter Matt Harrison early. Three hits, including Kurt Suzuki’s two-run double, provided Oakland starter Brandon McCarthy with a 3-0 lead before he ever stepped on the mound. Harrison settled down from there, while the Rangers finally got to McCarthy in the fourth. Moreland went the opposite way with a two-run blast to left to slice the Oakland lead to 3-2. Moreland wasn’t done. The first baseman drilled a solo shot to right to tie the game in the sixth off McCarthy, a former Texas starter. It also marked the fourth career multi-home run game for Moreland. Craig Gentry followed with a double. Ian Kinsler singled Gentry to third before Texas took the lead with a controversial call that left Oakland fuming. Elvis Andrus squared to bunt, but instead of getting the ball down, it popped up short of the mound. McCarthy, all 6-foot-7 of him, dove and replays appeared to show he got his glove under the ball. Home plate umpire Laz Diaz ruled the ball hit the ground, so instead of a double-play, Gentry scored to take a 4-3 lead. A’s manager Bob Melvin came out to argue the call to no avail and was tossed by Diaz. Oakland didn’t dwell on the tough break for long. Josh Reddick smashed one into the Rangers’ bullpen in the seventh off reliever Alexi Ogando to knot the score at 4-4. It was the first home run and second run allowed by Ogando this season. Texas completed its seven-game homestand at 3-4 and heads out on a six-game road trip beginning with three at instate rival Houston on Friday. The A’s return to the Bay Area to begin a three-game series Friday at San Francisco. NOTES: Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton didn’t start Thursday, but came in as a pinch hitter in the eighth. Currently the American League leader in each of the Triple Crown categories, Hamilton had his 16-game hitting streak snapped. … Oakland third baseman Brandon Inge (groin) was placed on 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Sunday. The A’s recalled infielder Adam Rosales from Triple-A Sacramento to replace Inge. … Oakland also brought up left-handed reliever Travis Blackley and optioned Andrew Carignan to A Sacramento. Blackley was claimed off waivers from San Francisco on Tuesday. … Texas owns the largest division lead in the AL at 4.0 games. … The attendance of 47,182 was the 13th sellout of this season, which is the third most in club history.

The Texas Rangers are just over one-fifth of the way through the 2012 season and they are looking better than I have ever seen. I’m not new to the scene either. I have been keeping up with the Rangers on a regular basis since the 1986 season. So you can trust me when I say that I have been there through the good times and the bad.

Yes a lot of my articles are opinion-based and a lot of people will call me a homer but I am a fan of the game of baseball that happens to be a fan of the Texas Rangers. After all, I have lived the majority of my life in the DFW. Unlike some locals I never bailed on my team and pledged allegiance to other clubs such as the Yankees or Red Sox. I support all of my local teams. Always have and always will.

Now while I can be “very” opinionated the one thing that I do is back up my statements with facts. I don’t just say that player A is better than player B based on simple thought. So when I say that the Texas Rangers are the best team in baseball I am not stating that based on my love for the team. I base it on love plus facts.

When the offense is at full-strength there is no better lineup one through nine. Even the guys at the bottom of the order such as Craig Gentry, Yorvit Torrealba and Mitch Moreland can’t be ignored. They may not be feared hitters but they can strike at any moment and help contribute. The Rangers currently lead the majors in team batting average. Fact, not opinion.

Is there any player better than Josh Hamilton at the moment? I don’t think so. All the guy does is put on a show both offensively and defensively and one can hope that he stays healthy all year long.

With the exception of Yu Darvish the starting staff has seen its shares of ups and downs as of late but they all have winning records and a great pitching coach in Mike Maddux to help them work out the kinks in their mechanics. I had high hopes for Matt Harrison coming into the season but lately he’s had command issues that have resulted in early exits. Still, though, it is early and I have no doubt that he will turn things around.

Darvish. The man is just amazing to watch. I can’t say enough about the guy. It’s been a long time since the Rangers had an ace pitcher on the staff not counting the short lived affair with Cliff Lee.

As for the bullpen, it is the best in the game. Koji Uehara has turned into the pitcher that Texas saw do great things in Baltimore before they acquired him last season and even Mark Lowe has had impressive outings. Those were the two biggest question marks coming into the season for me. And I still love the one-two-three punch of Alexi Ogando, Mike Adams and Joe Nathan at the back end.

Manager Ron Washington still has yet to receive the national accolades that he deserves and I will be very upset if he fails yet again to win manager of the year honors.

Still there’s plenty more baseball to be played. It’s just a great feeling to be able to talk about a great Texas Rangers team that is more complete than any before it. And that’s a fact.

Until next time I’ll see you in the cheap seats!

James Holland is a lifelong fan of baseball and his hometown Texas Rangers. He is also a senior columnist for shutdowninning.com, the founder of clawandantlernation.com and a member of SABR. You can follow him on Twitter where he waxes poetic about all things baseball @SDIJamesHolland.

Source:

http://mlb.mlb.com

(AP) BALTIMORE – Moments before he made history with his final swing in an incredible four-homer performance, Josh Hamilton stepped to the plate in the eighth inning with a surprising sense of calm.

The Texas Rangers slugger had never before hit more than two home runs in a game, and he already had three. So as he took his place in the batter’s box against Baltimore right-hander Darren O’Day, Hamilton already had a feeling of accomplishment.

“I just went up like it was any other at-bat because if I don’t hit one,” Hamilton reasoned, “I’ve still had a really good night.”

It turned out to be unforgettable.

Hamilton became the 16th player to hit four home runs in a game, launching a quartet of two-run drives against three different pitchers to carry the Rangers to a 10-3 victory Tuesday.

Hamilton homered off Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings, added another off Zach Phillips in the seventh and topped it off with a one-for-the-books shot against O’Day. During the last at-bat, Hamilton took a mighty hack and missed, lined a foul into right-field seats and then sent an 0-2 pitch over the center-field wall.

“Obviously it’s, other than being in the World Series, the highlight of my big-league career,” Hamilton said. “I was saying after I hit two I’ve never hit three in a game before, and what a blessing that was. Then to hit four is just an awesome feeling, to see how excited my teammates got.

“It reminds you of when you’re in Little League and a little kid, and just the excitement and why we play the game. Things like that. You never know what can happen. It was just an absolute blessing.”

Hamilton also doubled in the fifth inning. His 18 total bases is a new single-game American League record, and his eight RBIs are a career high.

“Amazing,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “Josh came out tonight, and he wasn’t going to be denied.”

The last player to hit four home runs in a game was Carlos Delgado on Sept. 25, 2003, for Toronto against Tampa Bay. Two of the 16 players to hit four homers in a game did it before 1900.

“History was witnessed tonight,” Washington said.

“It’s like anything else — you do something good or something incredible happens, it takes a little bit for it to sink in,” Hamilton said. “I think when I get away from everybody and I have some time to myself, I think it might then.”

Hamilton is the sixth AL player to perform the feat. The last to hit four homers in a game against the Orioles was Rocky Colavito in 1959, at old Memorial Stadium.

“He’s the best athlete in baseball,” teammate Nelson Cruz said of Hamilton. “If anybody can do it, he can do it.”

Elvis Andrus got on base ahead of Hamilton in each instance, said, “He kept hitting bombs and bombs. It feels really good because I don’t have to run that hard to score.”

Hamilton, who is in the final year of his contract and could become a free agent after this season, leads the AL with 14 homers and 36 RBIs, and his 5-for-5 effort raised his batting average to .406.

He also set the Texas single-game club record with five extra-base hits, breaking the mark of four held by eight players. Hamilton has homered in five of his last six at-bats, counting his final trip to the plate Monday night.

Hamilton’s record-setting night is the latest accomplishment in a career that almost never was.

He went from first round draft pick in 1999 by Tampa Bay to out of baseball all together because of drug and alcohol addiction.

He recovered and returned to the majors in 2007 with Cincinnati, and was traded to the Texas, where he has become a star — the AL MVP in 2010 — while still battling his addiction. He had a relapse before this season, but is off to a torrid start.

“Understanding that what I’m doing and what God’s allowed me to do coming back from everything I went through and allowing me to play the game at the level I play it, it’s pretty amazing to think about,” Hamilton said.

Adrian Beltre also homered for the Rangers. Coming off a 14-3 win in the series opener, Texas has won two straight for the first time since April 24-25 and are 20-10, their best-ever record after 30 games.

Dating back to last season, Texas has won seven in a row over Baltimore by a combined 70-18 score.

Rangers starter Neftali Feliz (2-1) gave up one run on four hits and had a career-high eight strikeouts. Converted to starter after notching 72 saves over the previous two seasons, Feliz had a 2-0 lead to protect before throwing his first pitch and maintained the advantage — just like when he was closer.

The Orioles entered the series with the best record in the majors after a 5-1 trip through Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, but they have looked more like a team with 14 straight losing seasons in these two games against the two-time defending AL champions.

Arrieta (2-3) allowed six runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings. He yielded a career-high three homers, matching the total he surrendered in his first six starts this season.

His most notable flaw was his inability to keep Hamilton from hitting the ball out of the park.

“It was the first time I’ve ever seen anything like that. Very special hitter,” Arrieta said on Hamilton. “He didn’t miss tonight.”

J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis hit consecutive solo homers for Baltimore in the eighth, long after the outcome had been decided.

The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Andrus drew a one-out walk and Hamilton hit Arrieta’s next pitch over the center-field wall.

It was more of the same in the third, and then some. After Andrus reached on a chopper off the plate, Hamilton lined an opposite-field drive into the left-field seats. Beltre followed with this sixth home run, the fourth time in 30 games that Texas has homered in successive at-bats.

Andrus singled in the seventh before Hamilton sent a drive over the center-field wall against Phillips, who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game.

After that, the only suspense was whether Hamilton would get another at-bat. He did, and made it count.

NOTES: Andrus has reached base in 26 straight games. He is 16 for 33 on the road trip. … Despite Baltimore’s surprising start, the game drew a meager crowd of 11,263. … Baltimore’s Chris Davis singled in the eighth to snap an 0-for-14 skid.