A's Play Texas Hold 'Em, Win Series vs. Rangers

The A's have hit their stride in this early part of the season, as all facets of the game have come together for them recently. They find themselves at 17-15 and have won their third straight series, taking three out of four games against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Before the Rangers went to West Sacramento last week, they were in first place in the AL West. Now they're in fourth.

This winning formula has consisted of solid starting pitching, great defense, and holding their opponents from being able to score against them--more importantly, from coming back late in games where the A's have the lead.

This grit they've shown collectively has been filled with clutch performances up and down the lineup. Their pitching staff has also been great to see at this early juncture in the season. Brent Rooker touched on that, saying they are all "geling" together right now and have many different guys who can contribute in a myriad of ways to help the team win.

The bullpen in particular has been fantastic with holding it down, especially in this series with low-scoring and close ballgames, where three of the four games headed into the eighth inning with a two-run lead or less.

Starting pitching has been no different, with JP Sears setting the tone in Texas in Game 1. He gave a solid start with 5.2 IP, five H, one earned run, no walks, and seven strikeouts. Tyler Soderstrom's two-run double in the fifth inning would be all the offense the A's needed as once again, as they were able to hold Texas back.

After the A's and LHP Jacob Lopez dropped the second game by a score of 15-2, they came out on Wednesday able to shake it off. The A's faced a great pitcher in righty Nathan Eovaldi and sent Luis Severino to the mound to shut down the Rangers.

He did just that, pitching five innings and only giving up one run, keeping the A's in the game. His key moment came in the bottom of the 3rd inning, where he was able to strike out Jake Burger to escape a bases-loaded jam. After some early season struggles, Burger has been sent down to Triple-A.

The game remained tied until the ninth inning, where the A's bats got hot at just the right time. Brent Rooker had a two-run go-ahead home run, followed by a Lawrence Butler grand slam (the first in his career).

They are focused and locked-in, showing great patience in these close ballgames and knowing they have the talent in their lineup to get the job done.

The A's received a great start from Jeffrey Springs on Thursday afternoon as they went on to complete the series win. Mark Kotsay was also encouraged by the performance, saying, "He came out aggressive today, and established his fastball."

This aggression is a great sign, especially for a pitcher who has had his struggles going into his seventh start of the season. He accepted the challenge head on and was able to find success. It's great motivation for Springs, his fellow teammates and A's fans who are hopeful he will continue to build off this start.

A's closer Mason Miler earned his tenth save on Thursday and has been the definition of "lights out." He holds an astounding 23 K / 2 BB ratio and is in the top five in appearances made, which makes him him one of the most underrated closers in the game. He had a historic start to the season last year as well, with 40 strikeouts and no walks in 15 appearances.

The A's feel confident every time he takes the mound in the ninth. Miller didn't even earn his tenth save until May 25th last year, so Miller is ahead of schedule for his own personal record book, and surely will have more accolades and praise coming his way if he continues to pitch the way he has lately.

The A's win on Thursday came against Tyler Mahle, who came into the game with the lowest ERA in the American League. After the A's scored once in six innings against Mahle, his 1.19 ERA on the year is tied with New York's Max Fried. For the A's to win this game is a big testament to where they're headed this season.

The A's will now begin a three-game series Friday night in Miami, where they hope to continue what they're doing well while taking advantage of a struggling Marlins team. Miami had an off-day after coming off a rough road trip against the Mariners and Dodgers, losing five out of six games. The two teams will face off beginning Friday evening at 4:10 PDT.