 in the third inning, his 13th home run this season but first since May 13. Davis sustained a left hip and oblique injury on May 5, tried to play through it and was out from May 22-31. Davis has 17 homers in 32 games at Globe Life Park, and he added an RBI single in the ninth against Jose Leclerc, giving him 34 RBIs this season.''Just got to stay within myself and weather the storm of the season,'' Davis said. ''The power's going to come and go, but it just felt good to help the team out.'' Frankie Montas (8-2) improved to 4-0 in his last seven starts, allowing three runs - two earned - and seven hits in six innings. He matched his career high with 10 strikeouts, getting his final six outs on Ks.''I would say the last two innings I was feeling better than the first four,'' Montas said.Matt Olson homered in the second off Smyly, who gave up five runs and six hits in three innings. Smyly has an 8.40 ERA and failed to finish four innings for the fifth time in nine starts.Texas trailed 8-3 in the eighth when Asdrubal Cabrera and Rougned Odor hit consecutive RBI doubles, and Odor stole home off left-hander Ryan Buchter, who was slow to step off the rubber and throw home.Odor bluffed a steal on the first pitch and saw Buchter didn't react.On the second pitch, ''I just put my head down and kept going,'' Odor said. He dove and stretched his left arm between the legs of catcher Josh Phegley.Cabrera, who homered in the sixth, hit an RBI single in the ninth against Blake Treinen, and Texas closed to 9-8 within on a run-scoring passed ball by Phegley. Odor walked and with runners on first and second, Treinen retired Ronald Guzman on a game-ending flyout for his 14th save in 16 chances.Stephen Piscotty hit a line drive off Smyly's left knee in the second inning. Smyly was examined by head trainer Matt Lucero, and Olson then hit the next pitch into the upper deck in right field. Smyly said that was the only pitch affected by being hit by Piscotty's liner.Hunter Pence robbed Mark Canha of an extra-base hit in the first inning. Pence ran to the wall in left, leaped and made the catch at the out-of-town scoreboard with his left hand while clutching the scoreboard's protective rubber netting with his right hand.FLAWLESS FIRST IMPRESSIONPeter Fairbanks made his major league debut. The 25-year-old right-hander who has come back following two Tommy John surgeries entered in the fifth, struck out the side, then pitched a hitless sixth.Fairbacks was recalled from Triple-A Nashville, where he was promoted to only 11 days earlier.''It's been a pretty hectic month,'' Fairbanks said. ''My goal for this year was to be able to make it to (Double-A) Frisco for most of the year.'' SHORT HOPSRamon Laureano extended his on-base streak to 28 games, the longest current one in the major leagues, with a second-inning single. ... The start of the game was delayed 1 hour, 5 minutes. ... The Rangers observed a moment of silence before the game for former manager Frank Lucchesi, who died Saturday at age 92.TRAINER'S ROOMRangers: LHP Matt Bush (elbow), who began an injury rehab with Double-A Frisco on Saturday, could return to the major league roster this month.UP NEXTA's: RHP Tanner Anderson will be recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday to open a three-game series at Tampa Bay.Rangers: LHP Mike Minor (5-4, 2.74), fifth in the American League in ERA, will begin a four-game series at Boston.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Montas, A's look for split of series with RangersFLMOakland right-hander Frankie Montas will seek to extend his streak of unbeaten starts to seven on Sunday afternoon when the Athletics and Texas Rangers meet in the series finale in Arlington, Texas.Montas (7-2, 2.83 ERA) will have to go a long way to match the effort of Rangers right-hander Adrian Sampson on Saturday night, in the nightcap of Texas' 10-5, 3-1 doubleheader sweep of the A's. Sampson threw the first complete game of his career, limiting the A's to four hits.Montas has been a pleasant surprise for the A's this season, already having surpassed the win total of his first three big-league seasons (six).He's gone 3-0 in his last six starts, most recently having beaten the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 with six innings of four-hit ball on Tuesday. All three wins during Montas' personal unbeaten streak have come on the road.According to the emerging 26-year-old, a key number in Tuesday's win was his walk total: one. That came on the heels of a five-walk outing when he faced the Angels a week earlier."I think they were expecting me to be like last time when I wasn't throwing a lot of strikes," Montas noted to reporters after the win. "They realized tonight was different and started swinging more." Montas didn't have one of his better performances in an earlier meeting with the Rangers, but came away a winner nonetheless. He was roughed up for nine hits and three runs in 5 2/3 innings on April 23 vs. Texas, a game the A's won 11-5.He's 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in five games, including two starts, against the Rangers in his career.One thing Montas would like to avoid Sunday is helping Shin-Soo Choo pad a club record he set Saturday when hit by a Chris Bassitt pitch in the fifth inning of the second game of the doubleheader.It was Choo's 58th HBP as a Ranger, topping Ian Kinsler's record.Choo had an interesting reaction earlier in the week after injuring his left hand when hit for the 57th time Wednesday against Baltimore."I don't like being tied," he assured reporters. "I like being first." Choo had to sit out two straight games, including the series opener against the A's, as a result of a bruised hand suffered in Wednesday's record-tying plate appearance. But he was back for both games Saturday, walking twice and scoring two runs in the opener, before contributing to a two-run, go-ahead fifth inning in the nightcap with his plunking.Meanwhile, Rangers left-hander Drew Smyly (1-4, 7.93) is in desperate need of finding a new direction.The 29-year-old left-hander has been batting practice for his last two opponents, lasting a total of just 8 1/3 innings while allowing 14 runs and 16 hits.Like Montas, Smyly will be pitching on four days' rest as he attempts to give the Rangers a 3-1 series win. He was last seen in a 12-11 loss to Baltimore on Tuesday.The veteran has faced the A's eight times in his career, five times as a starter, going 1-2 with a 5.83 ERA.--Field Level Media
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Oakland Athletics
Texas Rangers
Pick Center
MLB
FINAL (6/9/2019)
TomBartonSports
