ARLINGTON, Texas — On a Sunday filled with NBA Playoff games, MLB games, and the much anticipated return of a particular HBO drama series, the Texas Rangers weren’t about to wither quietly into the afternoon shadows the sun cast onto the Globe Life Park diamond. Though you wouldn’t have guessed that after the Oakland A’s took advantage of Rangers starting pitcher Adrian Sampson’s wobbly breaking ball.
While there was plenty of entertainment going on at the start of the game, including Elvis Andrus stealing home in a dramatic Sandlot fashion at the bottom of the second, Sampson had quietly dug the Rangers a deep hole at the top of the third with 2 out after walking Jurickson Profar, which started the domino effect the A’s needed in order to take a 7-2 lead by the end of the inning. Profar had spent five seasons with the Rangers and was beloved by fans in the Lone Star state until he was acquired by the A’s as a part of a three-team deal during the offseason.
Up until the bottom of the eighth, it was Andrus who was burdened with carrying the entire offense on his baby shark back and had managed to bring the Rangers up 4-7, until Asdrubal Cabrera, Danny Santana, and Delino DeShields came along and managed to nab the lead away from Oakland in a single crazy inning.
While it was Santana who surprised everyone in his first at-bat as a Ranger, it was Andrus who was the hero of the night and was actually only a double shy of a cycle, so it would have been more than just a heartbreaker if Texas had lost and let his insane night go to waste.
The Rangers welcome the Anaheim Angels on Monday when they commemorate Jackie Robinson Day here in Arlington, a tradition all major league teams participate in.
