Chances squandered in 'weird' game vs. A's

ARLINGTON -- A game that started off looking like it would be a slugfest consisting of nothing but home runs ended up as a battle of small-ball tactics, with the Rangers coming out on the losing end.

The nearly four-hour affair began with back-to-back homers from Adolis García and Joey Gallo, the club’s two All-Stars. But the Rangers were behind much of the afternoon, and despite a late-game surge that sent the game into extras, the home team didn’t have quite enough oomph for one more push, and they lost to the A’s, 8-4, in 11 innings.

“We had our opportunities,” manager Chris Woodward said. “[Runners on] second and third three times, I think, and multiple times during the game, we had the winning run at third ... The 11th got away from us, but before that, we just couldn't get the big hit.”

The offensive shortage prevented the Rangers from evening their home record, and they will enter the final game of the first half at 22-24 so far at Globe Life Field.

But there are reasons for optimism heading into the All-Star break. Since they were swept by the Twins several weeks ago, the Rangers are 10-8, and they have a positive run differential (+11) during that stretch.

That’s partly why Saturday’s loss was frustrating for the home team. Texas had multiple opportunities, and the A’s were also piling up several squandered chances of their own.

The game was close practically to the very end. The Rangers trailed by two with two outs in the 11th -- not an insurmountable deficit, considering they’d have the extra runner on second base to start their half of the inning.

But Stephen Piscotty’s two-run homer off Spencer Patton put the game out of reach.

The rough outing was a rarity for Patton, who tossed five shutout innings in his prior six appearances, and had held opponents scoreless in 13 of 14 appearances and posted a 0.86 WHIP since he was called up from Triple-A Round Rock on June 9.

“It’s hard to pinpoint and say, ‘Hey, he struggled today,’” Woodward said. “The Piscotty homer was a bad pitch ... but Patton’s been so good for us. He’s had such a good year. It was just one of those weird games.”

It started off pretty typically, though, with long ball contributions from each of the club’s marquee sluggers.

García's homer traveled an estimated 379 feet and left his bat at 101.9 mph, per Statcast. Gallo’s 376-foot homer, his 11th long ball in his past 12 games, was especially impressive.

It left his bat at 111.5 mph and had a 44-degree launch angle, making him only the fourth player since Statcast launched to record multiple homers with a 110+ mph exit velocity and 40-plus degree launch angle. Gallo also clubbed a 111.9 mph, 44-degree shot in 2017.

Then the A’s jumped into the fray, with Sean Murphy and Seth Brown providing their own back-to-back tape-measure shots off Rangers righty Mike Foltynewicz. Murphy’s traveled 438 feet, but Brown’s moonshot was a 472-foot solo shot that marked the longest homer in the brief history of the Rangers’ new ballpark.

The tone of the game took a dramatic turn later, with both teams turning to small ball to try to squeeze out the deciding run. The A's took a one-run lead in the 10th, only to see the Rangers tie it up before Oakland pushed ahead for good in the 11th.

The ending was a disappointing finish for what has been a decent stretch for the fifth-place Rangers.

“Morale on this team has been good, and right now, we’re playing good baseball,” Woodward said. “We’re giving ourselves a chance to win every night. Tonight hurts. We feel like we could have won the series today.”