Rangers get down early, fail to come back as A's take series. Oakland closer Andrew Bailey (above) celebrated after recording his fifth straight save. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
It seems as though every time the Texas Rangers (14-14) look as though they are going to separate themselves from the pack in the American League West, they end up falling back to earth.
This time, it came in the form of two-straight losses to the Oakland Athletics (15-14) - sacrificing their A.L. West lead.
"We can execute better," Manger Ron Washington said. "We've got to make sure we continue to pound and get them in the right frame of mind. There are still some guys in the lineup trying to find themselves.
"We go according to the middle of our lineup. They go, we go."
The Rangers 2-3-4 and 5 hitters in the lineup went a combined 3-15 from the plate, with Vladimir Guerrero knocking in the only run of the ballgame. While Oakland scored the first two runs of the game, taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning off Texas starter Colby Lewis. Four A's knocked in runs for the game, led by last night's hero Ryan Sweeney. Lewis finished the game allowing three runs off five hits, while striking out six in five innings of work.
"There were a lot of times where I felt like I was forcing my pitches," Lewis said. "I got slider happy and didn't really mix my pitches well."
For the A's, starter Trevor Cahill pitched five innings without an earned run, scattering five hits. Josh Hamilton, the number three hitter for the Rangers, struck out three times on the day.
"The biggest thing was I made the pitches I had to," Cahill said. "I was throwing my sinker in to righties and getting to get some double plays."
For Texas, it was only it's second loss on the six-game road trip and only the second loss in the last three series.
The Kansas City Royals come to town for a three-game set starting tomorrow night, with a 7:05 start at the Ballpark in Arlington. The series in the start of a 14 games in 17 day stretch for the Rangers. K.C. is 11-17 on the season.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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