OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Mike Minor pitched six scoreless innings of one-hit ball to win his fourth straight, Joey Gallo hit his 33rd home run and the Texas Rangers snapped out of their offensive slump to avoid a three-game sweep, beating the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Wednesday.
Adrian Beltre had a pair of RBI singles to help the Rangers end a six-game losing streak to the A’s. Jurickson Profar added two hits. Elvis Andrus singled and scored after going hitless in his previous 12 at-bats.
Stephen Piscotty had an RBI double for Oakland. The A’s entered the day tied with Houston for first place in the AL West.
Minor (10-6) was crisp while striking out four and walking one in his most effective start in nearly two months. The lefty, who was scratched from his scheduled start last Friday because of back stiffness, allowed only two runners and faced the minimum through six innings. Both runners were erased on double plays.
Cory Gearrin, Alex Claudio, Chris Martin and Jose Leclerc combined to retire nine batters and complete the four-hitter.
The A’s loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Leclerc struck out Nick Martini on a check swing for his sixth save in 10 opportunities.
Texas was shut out in the first two games of the series and had a 19-inning scoreless streak before Choo’s leadoff homer on the first pitch from Oakland starter Edwin Jackson (4-3) in the first inning.
It was Choo’s fourth game-opening home run this season and the 27th of his career.
After Choo walked and scored on Beltre’s single in the third, Gallo opened the fourth with a towering drive off Jackson. Gallo’s 74 home runs since the start of last season are the most by a Rangers player over a two-year span since Mark Teixeira had 76 from 2005-06.
Beltre singled in Andrus in the fifth to make it 4-0 and chase Jackson, who allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings and lost for the first time since July 20. The right-hander had yielded two runs over his previous 24 1/3 innings.
Piscotty’s two-out double off Cory Gearrin in the seventh ended the shutout bid.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: Profar started again at third base in place of Beltre and made a diving stop on Ramon Laureano’s sharp grounder in the first inning.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Drew Hutchison (2-2, 5.71 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season Friday against the Giants. Hutchison won his previous outing when he allowed two runs in five innings against the Angels.
Athletics: RHP Trevor Cahill (5-2, 3.12) pitches the opener of a four-game series in Minnesota on Thursday. Cahill has won four consecutive decisions, his longest winning streak since 2013.
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