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ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers hoped to create a little momentum with their short three-game homestand against the Oakland Athletics.
It didn't happen and now the Rangers will begin a seven game road trip Friday mired in their longest losing streak of the season after Thursday's 6-3 loss to the A's, the fifth-straight loss for Texas.
Texas had its work cut out for it against Rangers' killer Sonny Gray but scored three times off Gray in his six innings to give itself a chance. Unfortunately the much maligned Texas bullpen didn't cooperate.
Five straight Oakland batters reached with the bases empty and two outs in the top of the seventh inning and by the time the bleeding had stopped a 3-3 tie was a 6-3 Oakland lead. Keone Kela allowed consecutive two-out singles and lefty Sam Freeman followed by not retiring any of the three batters he faced. Freeman forced in the go-ahead run with a walk of Ben Zobrist and then served up a two-run single to Josh Reddick.
Texas had a chance to get out the inning unscathed but Freeman couldn't field a comebacker with Stephen Vogt at the plate and the Zobrist walk and Reddick hit followed.
"The whole outing makes me mad," Freeman said. "That's obviously (the comebacker) a part of it. Just not being able to come through and strand those runners. That's tough."
Freeman wasn't the only Texas pitcher who felt like he let the Rangers down Thursday. Starter Colby Lewis faced the minimum through four innings but hurt his own chances in the fifth. After Texas got two runs off Gray in the bottom of the fourth Lewis walked three batters in the top of the fifth inning and then gave up a two-run single to Sam Fuld on a full-count pitch to tie the game at two with two outs.
"I flat just let them back in the ballgame and beat myself in the fifth," who did post his fifth straight quality start. "That was the majority of what happened. I don't know the last time I walked three guys in an inning. That may date back to my rookie year. That was just bad pitching. It's solely on me. I got in a 3-2 count with Fuld there and threw three fastballs right in same spot and he wound up hitting it. That might have sparked them a little bit."
Texas came back and got Lewis another run in bottom of the fifth but he gave it right back in the top of the sixth. That also ended the day for Lewis and brought the Texas bullpen into play.
Now the Rangers have to figure out a way to end their skid and get things back on track.
"We know that there are going to be stretches like this," Texas manager Jeff Banister said. "How you react to them, how you bounce back from them, how you answer back is probably the most important thing. We have an opportunity to get on that plane and go to Toronto, play that first game in Toronto and put a foot down there, play well and try to get this momentum going back in the right direction."
