Oakland 4 runs in 11th to beat Rangers 8-4 in game of solos

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Jed Lowrie hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 11th inning after an earlier home run and the Oakland Athletics went on to beat the Texas Rangers 8-4 on Saturday.

"Ride the wave," Lowrie said. "We had a big inning, and I think that was good for everybody in the dugout."

Lowrie singled to right with one out in the 11th off Spencer Patton (0-1), who then threw a wild pitch that allowed another run before Stephen Piscotty added a two-run homer.

After both teams scored a run in the 10th, the A’s won for only the third time in their last nine games. They have to win the rubber game Sunday to avoid going winless in their last seven series before the All-Star break.

The A's had their most runs since a 13-6 win at Texas on June 22. The five runs just in extra innings were more than they scored in eight of their previous 10 games.

"We got some big hits that we’ve been missing here recently," manger Bob Melvin said.

J.B. Wendelken (2-1), the sixth Oakland pitcher, worked both extra innings.

There were five solo homers before the game went to extra innings, with both teams having back-to-back shots.

"It seemed like every ball that was hit in the air was a homer early on," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. "We had our opportunities. We couldn't get the big hit to win it."

Texas led 2-0 when All-Star sluggers Adolis Garcia and Joey Gallo homered in a span of three pitches in the first. Garcia hit his 22nd homer and Gallo his 24th, the 11th in 12 games for the right fielder who will participate in MLB’s Home Run Derby on Monday night.

Sean Murphy and Seth Brown went back-to-back in the A's second. Murphy hit a 438-foot homer into the second deck of seats in left-center, then Brown followed with one that went even farther — 472 feet over the Texas bullpen in right-center, the longest ever hit at Globe Life Field.

"Obviously the home runs makes you feel a little bit better about yourself, because that’s typically what we do from time to time," Melvin said.

Lowrie went deep in the fourth for a 3-2 lead. The Rangers got even in the eighth when Jake Diekman, the third Oakland reliever, walked two batters before Jonah Heim’s RBI single.

Elvis Andrus, who started the second extra frame at second base, came home on Lowrie's third hit of the game before Matt Olson, who walked leading off the inning, scored on the wild pitch. Piscotty hit his fifth homer, his first since May 14.

Piscotty pinch-hit and reached leading off the 10th, with Murphy going to third, when Nick Solak misplayed a grounder for his first error since April 13. That ended his 71-game errorless streak that was the longest ever by a Rangers second baseman. Ramon Laureano had an two-out RBI infield single, and Texas got even on an RBI grounder by Heim.

SHORT HOPS

Oakland is 4-3 in extra innings; Texas is 7-6. ... The blast by Brown surpassed a 464-footer by Murphy last September, and came three days after Gallo hit one 462 feet for what is now the third-longest in the stadium that opened last season. ... The only runs allowed by the starting pitchers were via solo homers. Oakland rookie right-hander James Kaprielian, who had been ill for a couple of days, left with a 3-2 lead after four strikeouts and four walks in five innings. Mike Foltynewicz struck out six without a walk over 6 1/3 innings but all five hits allowed were for extra bases (three homers, two doubles).

DERBY PREP

Gallo did some practice for the Home Run Derby before the game with Tony Beasley throwing to him in the same setup that will be used Monday night, a three-minute round with a catcher behind the plate and no batting cage. That session was planned, but led to an impromptu segment by A’s 1B Matt Olson. Olson took some swings from assistant hitting coach A’s Eric Martins, who will throw to him in Denver.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: RHP Mike Fiers (sprained right elbow) is still not comfortable throwing and isn’t yet playing catch again. "Still having problems," manager Bob Melvin said. Fiers last pitched May 6, and had an injection in his elbow 2 1/2 weeks ago after feeling discomfort when he first tried to resume throwing.

UP NEXT

Oakland right-hander Chris Bassitt (9-2, 3.04 ERA), a first-time All-Star after being added to the AL team Saturday, starts the series finale. He is 9-0 over his last 16 starts for the longest winning streak in the majors this season, and that includes consecutive wins over Texas in late June when he allowed one run over 14 innings. Texas lefty Kolby Allard (2-5, 3.45) is 1-5 in his seven starts since moving into the rotation May 27, and the Rangers have scored a total of five runs in those losses.