Postgame Notes: Rangers 5, Athletics 2

Texas rides big first inning to series win over AL West rival Oakland.

TEXAS has won 2 straight series for just the 2nd time this season (also 4/29-5/4 vs. ATL/at PHI)...have won multiple series in a single homestand for only 3rd time in Globe Life Field history...have gone 4-2 to open homestand, and have won 5 of last 8 at home...team is 7-3 vs. A's this season.

JON GRAY posted the 2nd start in Rangers history of at least 7.0 SHO IP with one-or-zero hits allowed, no walks, and 9 strikeouts: Yu Darvish, 4/2/13 at HOU (8.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 14 SO); Jon Gray, tonight vs. OAK (7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO)…retired 21 of 22 batters faced, allowing only baserunner on an infield single by Vimael Machin to lead off the 4th inning…has gone 5-1, 2.06 (10 ER/43.2 IP) with 8 BB/53 SO in last 7 starts…improves to 4-0 in his career at Globe Life Field.

COREY SEAGER drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single in the 5-run 1st inning, his career-high 6th straight game with an RBI…marks the longest RBI streak for a Ranger since 2017, when Adrian Beltre (8/11-16/17) and Nomar Mazara (6/6-12/17) both had 6-G RBI streaks…saw HR streak stopped at 5 G, T2nd-longest in Rangers history.

MARCUS SEMIEN stole his 15th and 16th bases of the season, a new career high...previous best was 15 set with Toronto last season...leads Rangers with 16 steals and has 97 steals for his career…prior to this season, he had never had more than 10 steals before the All-Star break.

LEODY TAVERAS hit a 2-run single in the 5-run 1st inning and finished this 3-G series with 6 RBI...has 12 RBI in 26 G this season after entering 2022 with 15 RBI in 82 G over his first 2 MLB seasons (2020-21)…with his stolen base in the 1st inning, has now been successful in 22 of 24 (92%) stolen base chances in his career.

OAKLAND dropped back to season high-tying 30 games under .500 at 30-60 (.333)…have lost 7 of last 10 G overall and 8 of last 10 G on the road…had one hit in first 8 innings (Vimael Machin single in 4th) before hitting 2 HR in the 9th.

PAUL BLACKBURN gave up 5 R-ER on 3 H in the 1st inning (most runs he’s given up in the 1st inning this year)…the 2022 All-Star had given up only 6-R-ER in the opening frame for the season coming into tonight’s start…bounced back by retiring the next 11 batters in order before giving up a walk to Semien in the 5th…went on to retire 15 of his last 16 batters faced, giving up 0 H…has given up 5 ER or more in 3 of his last 5 starts (including two straight) after not doing so in his first 12 starts of the season…ERA has risen from 2.26 to 3.62 during the 5-G stretch.

SKYE BOLT broke up the shutout with a solo home run in the 9th inning…his 1st home run of 2022 and 2nd career (also 6/12/21 vs. KC).

MISCELLANEOUS: The Rangers’ 5-run 1st inning was the club's 2nd-highest opening inning this season (6-R 1st on 5/16 vs. LAA)…Texas has scored 5+ runs in 6 straight games (all on this homestand), tied for team's longest streak in the last 5 seasons since 2018 (TEX had two 6-G streaks in 2019)…Garrett Richards entered with the tying run at the plate and 2 outs in the 9th, recording his 6th career save and first since 2021 (3 saves w/ BOS).