A’s 6, Rangers 1: Graveman takes no-hitter into seventh in victory.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Of all the possible stadiums in which to flirt with a no-hitter, Texas isn’t one that readily springs to mind. It’s a hitter’s park, and the Rangers have a tough lineup, even with Adrian Beltre on the disabled list.
Wielding a wicked sinker, Graveman waltzed through the windy evening at Globe Life Park untouched except for a walk and his own error through the first six innings. But with two outs in the seventh, Mike Napoli blasted a solo homer to center to end the no-hit bid. Graveman gave up two hits in seven innings and the A’s beat the Rangers 6-1.
“Pretty impressive, especially against a team like this and in a ballpark like this,” manager Bob Melvin said. “In this ballpark, you’ve got to work really hard, especially when the wind is blowing out like that.”
Catcher Stephen Vogt said he thought Graveman had “nohitter stuff, for sure. Everyone knew what was coming and still couldn’t find a way to barrel it. He was outstanding.”
Even when Sonny Gray returns this month from a lat strain, Graveman could well be considered the A’s top starter, given his solid 2016 season and his terrific work so far this year; he’s 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA, and he has allowed eight hits and three walks in 13 innings with 12 strikeouts. Vogt called him “the ace of our staff right now.”
Graveman walked Rougned Odor with one out in the second inning, and Odor made it to second when Graveman fielded a grounder by Jonathan Lucroy and threw the ball slightly to Marcus Semien’s left as Semien covered second base. Both runners were safe, but Graveman also got the next batter, Joey Gallo, to hit a comebacker, and this time Graveman started a double play to end the inning.
“That’s something in the past, I would have let it escalate and it would have got out of hand,” Graveman said. “But I had a really good feeling, ‘Hey, I could get a groundball here and get a double play and get out of it.’ ”
Semien helped Graveman on a grounder by Carlos Gomez in the sixth; Semien went deep in the hole and made a strong throw to first to keep the nohitter intact. Yonder Alonso stretched nicely for the slightly high throw to end the inning.
Graveman, who heaped praise on the left side of the infield in particular, said the fact it was such a low-scoring game most of the way was more on his mind than the potential no-hitter. “It’s definitely a good feeling to know you have good stuff and you haven’t given up a hit, but there’s also a sense that, hey, you have to continue to attack because you can’t walk anyone (in the seventh) or the tying run’s at the plate,” he said.
Melvin said that the game became a little nerve-racking for him as the night wore on because he didn’t want to run Graveman’s pitch count too high this early in the season; he and Graveman both said that Graveman got a little tired toward the end as it was and his velocity began to dip a bit.
Texas starter Yu Darvish, who has his occasional struggles with the A’s, kept them off balance much of the way Saturday, but in the sixth, Matt Joyce walked, Ryon Healy doubled him to third and Vogt drove him in with a groundout. Oakland added a run in the seventh on Rajai Davis’ sacrifice fly off Tony Barnette.
In the eighth, Jed Lowrie doubled in Khris Davis with a flyball that eluded right fielder Nomar Mazara at the base of the wall, and Alonso — who turned 30 Saturday — followed with a two-run homer off Dario Alvarez, the seventh of his career off a left-hander.
In the ninth, Rajai Davis doubled, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Semien.
“All around, just a good game by everyone,” Alonso said.
Darvish is now 3-10 lifetime against the A’s, six more losses than he has against any other team.