The Texas Rangers added two victories to the win column on Saturday (June 8) by capitalizing on a doubleheader with the Oakland Athletics. While the first game was a five-run win over the As, the second contest was a closer win, 3-1.
Per ESPN’s report, the first game saw the Rangers’ newest roster member, catcher Tim Federowicz, hit a home run in his debut for the team this season. He also helped two of the Rangers’ pitchers in their big league debuts. Federowicz has played in 135 games, but he’s now playing on the sixth different team for his MLB career.
He’d finish 2-for-3 in his Rangers’ debut with three RBIs. Also assisting with the team’s 10 runs were Elvis Andrus, Nomar Mazara, and Asdrubal Cabrera. Andrus was 3-for-5 in the game, while Mazara and Cabrera each had two RBIs to add to the team’s total.
Rangers pitcher Jeffrey Springs (4-1) picked up the win, while the A’s Paul Blackburn (0-1) was on the losing side. Springs worked three innings and struck out three batters. Jeff Palumbo was on four innings, striking out four, but also giving up six hits and four runs.
The two teams would meet again for the doubleheader with the Rangers claiming a 3-1 victory. It was rookie pitcher Adrian Sampson’s time to shine, as ESPN reported he threw a four-hitter in his first career game. It took a while for him to get some run support, as it wasn’t until the fifth inning that Danny Santana hit a one-out single. It was Santana getting on base that led to the team scoring. He’d later add an RBI triple to help with the team’s lead.
With the two victories, the Texas Rangers are now 34-29 overall and 24-11 at home. The Oakland Athletics dropped to 32-33 with a 14-18 away record. Texas is still 8.5 games behind the American League West division leaders, Houston. The Athletics are 11.5 games behind the division leaders.
The two teams meet again on Sunday afternoon, with a contest scheduled for just after 3:05 p.m. Eastern Time (2:05 local).
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