Allard toys with no-no in bounce-back start

ARLINGTON -- Rangers left-hander Kolby Allard couldn’t match White Sox no-hit star Lucas Giolito on Wednesday night, but he did make a strong case for keeping his spot in the rotation.

Allard, who couldn’t get out of the first inning in his last start, had a no-hitter through 5 1/3 innings this time around. Allard then hit a wall in the sixth, and the Athletics came back for a 3-1 victory at Globe Life Field.

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The loss was the Rangers’ 10th in their last 11 games, but it marked a significant turnaround for Allard, who had allowed 10 runs over 3 2/3 innings in his last two starts. The Rangers even considered using an “opener” ahead of Allard for this game.

But Allard made some adjustments from his two previous starts. Most notable was using his changeup more and getting away from being overly reliant on his fastball and cutter.

“It was using all of his pitches,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “Changeup was one of them, a big key to it. He just got very, very predictable in his last outings. So we just asked him to use all his pitches, and he did a really good job. … Couldn't ask for much more than that.”

This was the longest no-hit bid by a Rangers starter since Mike Minor went 6 1/3 innings before allowing a hit against the Padres on June 27, 2018. Allard’s bid came one night after Giolito no-hit the Pirates.

“I think the last two starts definitely weren't very good,” Allard said. “I didn't execute some pitches. When I did execute some pitches, some balls would fall and everything kind of bounced the wrong way there. I think tonight, getting back on track, staying the course, making a few adjustments was good to just get back out there and compete.”

The A’s had just two baserunners through five innings, on a walk and an error. In the fifth inning, Rangers right fielder Joey Gallo made a terrific diving catch on Franklin Barreto’s soft line drive. That was the kind of defensive gem that gets remembered for a long time if it comes during a no-hitter.

But Allard started losing it in the sixth. Vimael Machin grounded out hard to shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa to start the inning before Allard walked Marcus Semien and Ramón Laureano. Stephen Piscotty then singled through the left side to bring home the tying run.

“I got a quick out to start and then Semien kind of worked me good, longer at-bat, 3-2 walk,” Allard said. “After that, I don’t think I necessarily hit a wall, I was just trying to be a little too cute with some pitches, lost that attack mentality and that cost me. Something to learn from.”

Allard walked Mark Canha to load the bases, and that was it for him. Right-hander Luis García took over, and, with Matt Olson at the plate, he threw a wild pitch to score Laureano with the go-ahead run.

“I think if he would have given up a hit before the sixth I would have gotten him a little bit sooner probably,” Woodward said. “Not that I thought he was going to throw a no-hitter or leave him out there long enough to throw a no-hitter because he was close to the 80-pitch mark. I don't think I was going to let him throw 130 to finish it off. But at the same time, when the kid hasn't given up a hit yet, you've kind of got to honor the fact that he can get out of that.”

Rangers, Athletics discussed postponement
Woodward said the Rangers and the Athletics discussed the possibility of not playing Wednesday. Three other MLB games were postponed when players decided not to play to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wis., on Sunday.

“There was a little bit of [question] on their side to consider whether or not they were going to play,” Woodward said. “There were some players on their team who felt like maybe they didn't want to play tonight. So we were going to fully support that if they didn't. We had some individual conversations with some of our guys, and we felt that we were OK playing, but we were going to fully support their option not to if they chose that.”

Oakland manager Bob Melvin said his team felt a decision would have been “rushed” on Wednesday night. The two teams are scheduled to play again on Thursday, and Melvin said the Athletics will have more extensive conversations before deciding how to handle that game.