Well, that was surprising. Oakland, led by starter JP Sears pitching 6 1/3 innings of one-hit ball and Seth Brown hitting a home run, grabbed a 1-0 win over the Rangers.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – APRIL 11: Seth Brown #15 of the Oakland Athletics gets a hit for a double in the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on April 11, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Sears lowered his ERA into the 5’s, thanks to a performance that included carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He struck out five batters and walked three, but most of all shut down the Rangers offense completely.

After a rough start to the season, the bullpen is slowly getting things back on track. Austin Adams and Lucas Erceg pitched 1 2/3 innings of no-hit ball to get their respective holds, and closer Mason Miller fired the baseball 16 times in the ninth inning to end things for good.

We got ourselves a closer, ladies and gentlemen.

Offensively, all Oakland could muster was a solo home run from Seth Brown in the second inning.

Texas’s starter Jon Gray pitched well in all honesty. Five innings, allowing three hits, and just one run? Not too bad. But, when your opponent’s starter plays even better, you can’t do much about it.

The Rangers’ only hit came from Adolis Garcia in the seventh.

Up Next

After a 4-2 road trip, the A’s head back to the Coliseum for a series with the Washington Nationals. Paul Blackburn (1-0, 0.00 ERA) takes the mound against Jake Irvin (0-1, 5.73 ERA). This will be the first of six games Oakland will be at home for (three with Nationals, three with St. Louis).

Congratulations to Darell Hernaiz for getting his first MLB hit! Oakland also called up utility man Max Schuemann from the minors and sent Brent Rooker to the 10-day IL.

Make sure to visit Belly Up Sports every week and follow me on Twitter/X! Also, check out my podcast “Backup to the Backup” on Spotify and YouTube for more content from me.

Featured Image: Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

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Nathan Nguyen

Nathan Nguyen is the NFL/New York Giants beat writer for Belly Up Sports.

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