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Texas Rangers run Away From A’s With 10-3 win

By Ric Dickens

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Sep 23, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Texas Rangers second baseman

Rougned Odor

(12) reacts to a home run by third baseman

Adrian Beltre

(29, not pictured) during the fifth inning of the game against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Final. 3. 96. 10. 126

The Texas Rangers (82-69) blew out the Oakland Athletics (64-87) tonight, beating them 10-3 and taking the first two games of the three game series. With the win, the Rangers gain another game on the Astros, and bring their magic number down to just eight games. The Rangers were never really tested in this one, and it was a good team win. Colby Lewis (17-8 4.36 ERA) got the win for the Rangers, while Felix Doubront (3-3 5.53 ERA) took the loss for the A’s.

Colby Lewis has provided a veteran presence to the Rangers rotation, and he has pitched well for them down the stretch. Lewis went six innings, surrendering five hits and two earned runs in the process. He wasn’t as sharp as he normally is, needing 99 pitches, 63 of which were strikes, to get through six innings of work. Even though he wasn’t as sharp as I am sure he would’ve liked to be, he did what veterans do and that is worked through it. It’s a great sign to see that even though Lewis didn’t have his best stuff, he was still able to grit through six effective innings.

When the Rangers turned to their bullpen, they came through yet again. Sam Freeman pitched an inning of work, surrendering a home run to Eric Sogard but nothing more. Jake Diekman came in for the second night in a row, and he didn’t disappoint tonight. Diekman pitched an inning, allowing one base runner and nothing more. Ross Ohlendorf came on and pitched the final inning for the Rangers, pitching a solid inning of work and closing the game out.

The A’s struggles continued tonight, turning to LHP Felix Doubront. Doubront pitched just 4 2/3 innings of work, surrendering seven earned runs on eight hits tonight. Arnold Leon came in and did a great job of stopping the bleeding for the A’s, pitching 2 1/3 of no hit ball for the A’s. Daniel Coulombe came in and followed that up with a great inning of work, but R.J. Alvarez let the Rangers blow it wide open. Alvarez allowed three earned runs in the ninth, giving up three hits in the process.

The Rangers continued their torrid September, and that couldn’t be a better sign for their October hopes. The Rangers got things going in the fourth, as Mitch Moreland came through again with a single to right, scoring Adrian Beltre. Elvis Andrus then hit a home run to left, scoring three and making it 4-1. Beltre then got in on the action again in the fifth, hitting a three run home run and busting this game wide open. The Rangers got three more in the ninth, and that effectively put the game away.

A couple Rangers keep swinging bats exceptionally well, and tonight was no different. Beltre paced the offense, going 2-for-5 while tallying three RBIs. Elvis Andrus also had a nice game, which was good to see, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs as well, all of which came from his home run.

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With the win and the Astros loss, the Rangers increase their lead in the West to three games. As the end of the season is approaching, the Rangers grip on the AL West is strengthening. The upcoming series with the Astros will be huge, but it will be nice to have this cushion that the Rangers are building.

The Rangers will look to sweep the lowly A’s tomorrow, sending LHP Cole Hamels (10-8 3.67 ERA) to the hill. The A’s will look to salvage a game in the three game set, sending Chris Bassitt (1-6 2.82 ERA) to the bump. First pitch is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. CT from O.co Coliseum, and you can watch the Rangers game live locally on Fox Sports Southwest, or watch on any connected device with an Mlb.tv subscription.

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