OAKLAND, CA – Joc Pederson homered, doubled, and drove in three runs, while Jacob deGrom pitched five scoreless innings to lead the Texas Rangers to a 9-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, completing a three-game sweep.
DeGrom Shines on the Mound
DeGrom (10-6) was dominant, allowing just two hits and one walk, while striking out six. His stellar performance helped the Rangers extend their win streak to five games. Phil Maton earned his first save of the season after pitching a scoreless ninth, despite allowing one run.
Early Offense for the Rangers
The Rangers wasted no time jumping on Athletics’ starter J.T. Ginn (2-6). After Josh Smith led off the game with a walk, Wyatt Langford struck out, and Pederson crushed a 3-2 pitch down the line and over the right-field wall to give the Rangers a quick 2-0 lead.
In the second inning, Josh Jung followed suit, homering off Ginn to push the lead to 3-0. Pederson’s offensive production continued in the fifth, when he hit a two-out double, driving in Smith for a 5-0 advantage.
The Rangers kept their foot on the gas, with Langford drawing a bases-loaded walk in the sixth to score Ezequiel Duran, and Helman adding an RBI single to make it 7-0.
Key Moment: Pederson’s First-Inning Homer
Pederson’s early homer set the tone for the game, sparking the Rangers’ offense and giving them an early cushion they never relinquished.
Key Stat
This marks the ninth time the Athletics have been swept this season, and it was their first home sweep since May 19-22, when they were swept by the Los Angeles Angels. On the flip side, this was the Rangers’ first road series sweep of the year.
The Athletics are set to send Luis Morales (2-0, 1.19 ERA) to the mound on Monday for a matchup against Sonny Gray (12-7, 4.19 ERA) in St. Louis. Meanwhile, the Rangers will send Patrick Corbin (7-9, 4.33 ERA) to face Ryne Nelson (7-3, 3.53 ERA) in Arizona.
