MLB Wild Card roundup: A’s slide continues
The Oakland Athletics are stunned by their September collapse, yet stuck to find a solution.
And with the way things are going, manager Bob Melvin can’t talk about playoffs, let alone plan for them.
Sonny Gray and the A’s kept tumbling Thursday, falling out of the top A.L. wild-card spot with a 7-2 loss to Texas that gave the Rangers a three-game sweep.
“It’s not very fun. When you’re in a race, it’s supposed to be fun,” left fielder Brandon Moss said. “But I don’t see anyone in this clubhouse having any fun, because it’s not. We’re pretty frustrated. We’re disappointed.
“But it’s not over, and we know that.”
The latest loss to the team with the worst record in the majors dropped the A’s a half-game behind idle Kansas City for the first wild-spot slot. Oakland owned the best record in the big leagues as recently as Aug. 15.
“We’re still in the wild card. All that’s moot unless we start to play better. We’ll find ourselves in no position if we continue to lose,” Melvin said. “You’ve got to fight being beat down based on what has transpired here recently. … It’s tough sometimes to get over these things. They’re all accountable for what they do. We all are.”
Texas roughed up Gray (13-9) for four runs in the first inning and won its season-best sixth in a row. Oakland has lost six of eight.
Gray saw his winless stretch reach five starts. The right-hander in his first full major league season has only one victory in 10 starts since his 5-0 July that earned him A.L. pitcher of the month honors.
Leonys Martin hit an RBI double and the Rangers came out swinging for 15 total hits.
Texas got four straight two-out singles in the first, including RBI hits from Jake Smolinski, Tomas Telis and Ryan Rua.
The A’s were outscored 19-6 in the sweep.
National League
Cards 3, Brewers 2 (13)
Tony Cruz singled in the winning run in the 13th inning and St. Louis moved closer to their second straight Central title with a home victory over Milwaukee.
The defending N.L. champions took two of three in a tight series that featured only 12 runs and another game that lasted 12 innings, and lead the division by 2 1/2 games with nine games to go.
Pirates 3, Red Sox 2
Pittsburgh got a lucky break when Red Sox pinch-runner Jemile Weeks was hit by a batted ball in the ninth inning, beating visiting Boston to keep pace in the N.L. pennant race.
The Pirates won their fourth in a row. They are now 3 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot, and host the Brewers in a three-game series beginning today.