Rangers manager blames himself after competitive loss to Athletics

The Texas Rangers were defeated 6-5 by the Athletics on Wednesday. It was a competitive ball game that saw the Rangers fall short in the end. After the game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker accepted responsibility for the loss, via MLB.com.

“I think this game is solely on me,” Schumaker said. “I made a bad strategy move middle of the game. I put this one solely on me. The offense did their job, came back late with the big home run with (Jake) Burger. I put Cole (Winn) in a bad situation and it ultimately cost us the game in my opinion. So, this one is on me.”

The Athletics now lead the four-game series 2-1. On Monday, Nathan Eovaldi led the Rangers to an 8-1 win. The Athletics bounced back with a 2-1 Tuesday victory and then the aforementioned 6-5 win on Wednesday.

Corey Seager and Jake Burger both hit home runs in Wednesday’s contest. Texas attempted to come back and earn the win on the road, but the Athletics were able to get the job done.

The Athletics are now 10-8 overall and lead the American League West division. Meanwhile, the Rangers are 9-9 and in second place in the division. It is still early in the season of course, but the final game of the series on Thursday is a big matchup. Texas will turn to Jack Leiter (1-1, 4.91 ERA), while the A’s are going with Jacob Lopez (1-1, 7.43 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 PM EST in what projects to be another competitive game between the Rangers and Athletics.