Rangers Rally in Ninth to Beat Athletics 9-6

Joc Pederson delivered a tiebreaking single in a four-run ninth inning as the Texas Rangers overcame a late deficit to defeat the Oakland Athletics 9-6 on Thursday afternoon in West Sacramento, California, securing a split of their four-game American League West series.

The victory capped a back-and-forth contest marked by defensive miscues and opportunistic hitting. The Rangers, who improved to 10-2 in their last 12 games, jumped ahead early with single runs in the third and fifth innings. Ezequiel Duran doubled and scored on Brandon Nimmo's RBI single off Athletics starter Jacob Lopez in the third. Texas loaded the bases in the fifth before Jake Burger's sacrifice fly brought home Duran for a 2-0 lead.

Oakland responded aggressively in the bottom of the fifth, erupting for three runs against Rangers starter Jack Leiter to take a 3-2 advantage. Jacob Wilson lined a two-run single to right, then stole second and came home on Carlos Cortes' RBI single. The Athletics extended their momentum in the eighth, capitalizing on two breaks to score three more times. Lawrence Butler reached on a popup lost by Duran in the sun, loading the bases with two outs. Reliever Jacob Latz then faced...