ARLINGTON, Texas—Leody Taveras hit a game-ending single with one out in the ninth inning and the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 3–2 on Saturday night.
The bases were loaded when Taveras grounded a single through the middle and past a drawn-in infield, sending pinch-runner Ezequiel Duran home with the winning run.
Athletics reliever Tyler Ferguson (2–2), who struck out the side after coming on in the eighth, hit Nathaniel Lowe with a pitch to start the ninth. Carson Kelly reached on a bloop single and Travis Jankowski drew a four-pitch walk with one out. Duran replaced Lowe at second base after Kelly’s single.
All-Star closer Kirby Yates (6–2) worked around a single and a walk in a scoreless ninth.
The reigning World Series champion Rangers (64–71), who last year led the American League with 5.43 runs per game, were held to four or fewer for the sixth game in a row and the 12 time in their last 15 games. They are 23–16 in one-run games, and have won their last six games decided by a single run.
Jonah Heim’s 12th homer was a two-run shot in the second inning that put Texas up 2–0.
Lawrence Butler became Oakland’s fourth player with 20 homers this season when he lined a ball that had an exit velocity of more than 112 mph and just cleared the 8-foot high wall in right field in the fourth.
The A’s tied the game in the sixth after back-to-back doubles by Butler and Brent Rooker, who homered twice in the series opener Friday night.
The A’s have gone deep 16 times in their last five games, accounting for 24 of their 34 runs on this road trip. They have scored an MLB-high 50.9% percent of their runs (283 of 556) via homers.
