A Nine-Man Ninth Inning Seals the Deal

The Texas Rangers secured a series split against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, rallying for four runs in the top of the ninth inning to win 9-6 at Sutter Health Park.

All nine Rangers batters reached base in the decisive ninth, sparked by singles from Jake Burger and Josh Jung, a bunt that led to an Athletics error to tie the game, and capped by an RBI single from Joc Pederson and a two-run single by Ezequiel Duran.

A 'Circus' Game Defined by Wind

Eighteen-mile-per-hour gusts turned the game into what manager Skip Schumaker called 'maybe the worst I've ever been around, playing wise.' Jung's wind-aided two-run homer in the seventh put Texas ahead 5-3, but the winds turned against the Rangers in the eighth when left fielder Wyatt Langford lost a popup in a swirling vortex, allowing Oakland to score three runs and take a 6-5 lead.

Jung Inches Toward the Cycle

Jung finished a triple shy of the cycle, continuing his torrid April. 'No one was going up there trying to be the hero,' Jung said. 'Just take what the game gives you.' In a lighter moment, Langford's frustrated water jug toss in the dugout after the eighth inning mishap reportedly broke the tension and sparked the team's decisive rally.