Pinder, A's walk off in ninth to sweep Rangers
Chad Pinder dumped a game-winning single into shallow right-center field that scored Stephen Piscotty with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday afternoon, as the Oakland Athletics took advantage of a Texas Rangers defensive miscue to complete a three-game sweep with a 6-5 victory.
In a game that featured five home runs -- including a three-run shot by the A's Marcus Semien in the second inning and a pair of solo shots by the Rangers' Nomar Mazara -- Oakland's winning rally was the product of a pair of singles sandwiching a stolen base, which occurred when Texas forgot to cover second base on Piscotty's steal attempt.
Pinder then hit the next pitch by the Rangers' fourth pitcher, Chris Martin (0-2), for the walk-off single.
Oakland's Matt Chapman and Texas' Logan Forsythe also went deep in the game, which was ending just as players and coaches were starting to show up for the Golden State Warriors' NBA playoff game next door against the Los Angeles Clippers.
A's closer Blake Treinen (1-1), who escaped a two-on, one-out situation in the top of the ninth by inducing a double-play grounder, got the win.
The Rangers led 1-0 after Jeff Mathis' RBI groundout in the second inning, but found themselves fighting an uphill battle most of the way after Semien's three-run homer in the second.
Texas erased the two-run deficit with the first of Mazara's homers in the third and Forsythe's homer in the fourth, only to fall behind by two again when the A's scored twice in the fifth.
Chapman opened that inning with his eighth homer of the season, and former Ranger Jurickson Profar made it 5-3 with a two-out RBI single that plated Piscotty.
But again Texas scratched back, and again a solo homer by Mazara was part it it. That came in the sixth, making it 5-4, before Mathis scampered home on a two-out wild pitch by Joakim Soria in the seventh to get the Rangers even.
Neither starting pitcher got a decision.
A's right-hander Aaron Brooks left with a 5-3 lead after working five innings. He allowed three runs on six hits and struck out seven.
Rangers right-hander Kyle Dowdy, making an emergency start after the club had to place Drew Smyly on the injured list, lasted just three innings, giving up three runs and four hits. He walked three and struck out two.
The homers by Mazara were his third and fourth of the season, while Forsythe hit his second and Semien his fourth.
Pinder, Semien, Piscotty and Nick Hundley had two hits apiece for the A's, who were on the losing end of a three-game sweep in their previous series against Toronto.
Mazara and Forsythe had two hits each for the Rangers, who were out-hit 11-7.
--Field Level Media
