Rangers Win, Insert Hyperbole Here

Justin Grimm allowed 3 runs in 5 innings, and the Ranger offense battered the Oakland pitching staff in route to a 9-4 win on Wednesday night — Texas’s 2nd in three nights.

Grimm didn’t surrender any runs in the first 4.0 frames, but the wheels began falling off in the 5th after walking Josh Reddick and Eric Sogard; with two outs and men on 1st and 2nd, Justin uncorked a 3-1 pitch to Chris Young that caught way too much of the plate, which he deposited onto Green’s Hill to leverage the lead into Oakland’s favor, 3-2.

After retiring the next hitter, Jed Lowrie, Grimm wouldn’t face another batter, finishing his night at only 75 pitches — which speaks more to how much Ron Washington wanted to win than about Justin Grimm being particularly ineffective.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Rangers turned the tables, again, scoring on an Ian Kinsler sac-fly and a Nelson Cruz fielder’s choice, which would have been a routine out at the plate had Leonys Martin not contorted his body in just the right form, extending his left hand a blink below the tag of the catcher’s mit.

The A’s wouldn’t see the lead again. In the bottom of the 6th Texas poured it on Tommy Milone some more, peppering three separate run-scoring singles to extend Oakland’s deficit to 7-3; Adrian Beltre added a double to make it 8-3.

Aside your garden variety Kyle McClellan futility, the bullpen executed its job, as it has been wont to do in 2013. Neither Jason Frasor (0.2 IP) nor Neal Cotts (1.1 IP) gave up a run, though with the lead at 9-3 Kyle McClellan did his usual thing and gave up a run.

Also, Neal Cotts is amazing:

The win moves the Rangers back to only a game behind Oakland in the loss column, and 2.0 back for the division lead. A win on Thursday afternoon would be fucking awesome.