Welcome Back, Texas Rangers Offense! Semien Leads Rout of A's

Marcus Semien homered twice as the Texas Rangers scored their most runs in nearly a month.

ARLINGTON, Texas –The Texas Rangers offense had its best game in nearly a month to beat the Oakland Athletics 9-4 Sunday afternoon at Globe Life Field.

The Rangers (78-64) last scored nine or more runs on Aug. 14, two days before their eight-game losing stretch began.

Marcus Semien had four hits and homered twice, including back-to-back homers with Corey Seager during a four-run sixth, to lead the 12-hit attack. It's the first 10-plus hit game for Texas since Sept. 3.

"That's what we needed. We want to score runs like we did in the first half," Semien said. "We want more of that."

Simmy. Seags. Back-to-back! #StraightUpTX pic.twitter.com/V5tCBcpWLY

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) September 10, 2023

The Rangers are a half-game back of the Seattle Mariners for the third wild-card spot and for second place in the AL West. The Mariners lost to the Rays on Sunday. The Rangers remain three back of the first-place Astros in the division.

Texas opens a crucial four-game series in Toronto at 6:07 p.m. Monday. The Blue Jays currently hold the second wild-card spot, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Rangers.

"Great job by the offense, the top of the order, what a day they had," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. "It's good to win a series, it's been a while."

The last-place Athletics (44-99) scored four runs in the third to take a 4-3 lead against starter Jon Gray. 

The Rangers scored three in the first on the first of two solo homers by Semien and consecutive doubles by Mitch Garver and Robbie Grossman.

Nathaniel Lowe's two-run single put the Rangers ahead 5-4 in the fifth. 

Rangers 9, Athletics 4

Here are the key moments from Sunday's game:

Leading the Way

Marcus Semien set a new Washington/Texas franchise single-season record with eight leadoff home runs in 2023. The previous high of seven was done four times. The most recent case was Shin-Soo Choo in 2019.

Seager Bombs

Corey Seager hit his 30th homer in the sixth inning Sunday. It's his second career 30-homer season. He had 33 in 2022. He's the third player in Rangers history with 30-plus homers in his first two seasons with the club. The others:
Alex Rodriguez (2001-02-03)
Adrián Beltré (2011-12-13)
Corey Seager (2022-23)

Heaney Picks Up Gray

Jon Gray left after 2 2/3 innings, his shortest outing since June 18. Gray was charged with four runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks. Andrew Heaney (10-6) earned the win after throwing 3 2/3 innings of extended scoreless relief. He struck out six and walked one. It's Heaney's first 10-win season.

Up Next

The Rangers open a four-game series against the Blue Jays in Toronto at 6:07 p.m. Monday. Rangers right-hander Dane Dunning (9-6, 3.88) faces Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt (14-7, 3.69) in the opener.

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You can follow Stefan Stevenson on Twitter @StefanVersusTex.

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