Rangers slide past Athletics for fifth straight win

Jacob deGrom threw five scoreless innings and Joc Pederson homered and drove in three runs on Sunday to help the visiting Texas Rangers post a 9-6 victory over the Athletics and complete a three-game sweep in West Sacramento, Calif.

deGrom (11-6) allowed just two hits, while striking out six and walking one for the Rangers, who won their fifth straight game and their eighth in nine tries. Josh Smith went 2-for-2 and reached on three walks in the leadoff spot for Texas, which sits 4 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros in the American West and 2 1/2 behind the Seattle Mariners in the AL wild-card race.

J.T. Ginn (2-6) threw six innings for the Athletics, allowing five runs on five hits, striking out seven and walking a pair. Jacob Wilson went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the A's, who dropped their third straight after a three-game winning streak.

After Smith's leadoff walk in the first, Pederson belted his eighth homer of the season two batters later -- a 418-foot shot to give the Rangers an early 2-0 lead.

Josh Jung began the second with his 13th home run of the year to push Texas' advantage to 3-0.

Texas tacked on two more runs in the fifth. After Michael Helman's one-out walk, Smith doubled in the Rangers' fourth run, before Pederson's double extended the lead to 5-0 against Ginn.

A's reliever Elvis Alvarado entered in the seventh. He allowed Ezequiel Duran's single before Helman reached on Alvarado's fielding error and Smith's walk loaded the bases. Wyatt Langford then walked to drive in Texas' sixth run.

Two batters later, Garcia's single to right made it 7-0.

Langford's sacrifice fly pushed the Rangers' lead to 8-0 in the top of the eighth.

The Athletics finally cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth, as Wilson laced a two-run double off Texas reliever Caleb Boushley. Shawn Armstrong then entered for the Rangers, allowing Brent Rooker's RBI groundout and consecutive run-scoring doubles from Tyler Soderstrom and Carlos Cortes, cutting the Rangers' lead to 8-5.

Texas got a run back in the top of the ninth on Jung's RBI double off Tyler Ferguson.

Lawrence Butler's double drove in a run for the Athletics in the ninth off Phil Maton.

A's slugger Nick Kurtz (oblique) missed his second straight game.