Lowe and Gallo blasts lead Rangers past A’s 8-3 to take series

BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER

The Texas Rangers exploited a rare subpar effort by Sean Manaea Thursday afternoon, roughing up the Oakland ace for nine hits and a pair of home runs in his shortest outing since May 18 on the way to an 8-3 stomping of the A’s at the Coliseum.

Nate Lowe, an off-season acquisition from Tampa Bay, homered twice for Texas, taking a Manaea (6-5, 3.13) pitch deep over the right field wall in the fourth before connecting again for a two-run shot off Deolis Guerra in the seventh. Lowe’s second blast (his 12th) gave the Rangers a 7-0 lead, effectively eliminating any remaining suspense.

©DANIEL GLUSKOTER
Joey Gallo is greeted at home plate by Andy Ibáñez following his two-run fifth inning home run during the Rangers 8-3 win over the A’s Thursday afternoon at the Coliseum.

Joey Gallo continued his torrid pace for the Rangers, scorching a Manaea fastball 383-feet into the right field stands in the fifth inning for his 20th home run of the season. He also laced two singles on the way to a three RBI day. It was the fifth consecutive game with a homer for Gallo, a stretch that has seen him go 9-16 with seven home runs and 13 RBI’s.

Rangers manager Chris Woodward was effusive in his praise of Gallo, “It reminds me of Barry Bonds. That’s a huge name to throw out there, but you’re seeing a guy this hot, you don’t even know what to say. You don’t even know what to think.” Gallo became the first Rangers player to homer in five consecutive games since Mike Napoli in 2012. He also joined Josh Hamilton as the only Ranger to hit seven home runs in a five-game stretch.

The loss extended a rough stretch for the A’s where they’ve lost eight of their last 12 games, dropping 1 1/2 games behind the first place Astros. After the shaky Manaea’s exit, three Oakland relievers combined to allow four runs over the final four innings. Over the last dozen games, the A’s bullpen has posted a 6.61 ERA with four blown saves.

The A’s dormant offense managed to show brief signs of life in the eighth, piecing together their only three runs of the day with Chad Pinder’s RBI double being the only hit, with the help of a hit batter and fielding error, but it was far too little to change the outcome of the game.

Oakland now welcomes the Boston Red Sox, the team with the best record in the American League, for a three-game Independence Day weekend series at the Coliseum. Frankie Montas (7-7, 4.72) is scheduled to take the mound against Eduardo Rodriguez (6-4, 5.83) in the opener at 6:40pm Friday evening.

GAME NOTES:

Manaea entered the game with a 6-0 record and 2.40 ERA in his last eight starts against the Rangers.

Oakland finished the month of June with a 17-9 record, second best in the American League behind Houston, but is now 16-17 in division play.

The A’s have had at least four players on the Injured List all but one day since the fifth game of the season.

On this date in 1979 the A’s set a franchise record with 29 hits in a 15 inning win in Arlington against the Rangers.

About Daniel Gluskoter

Daniel Gluskoter is the Martinez Tribune's national music and sports editor and a Bay Area photojournalist who's work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2008 Presidential campaign as a correspondent for United Press International and has travelled worldwide covering events ranging from numerous Super Bowls and Olympics to Live Aid and the Grammys.

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