Bassitt shuts down Rangers for 8th win in a row

ARLINGTON, Texas — Chris Bassitt is on quite a roll for the Oakland Athletics since being their opening day starter and then losing his first two games. He hasn’t lost since.

Bassitt limited Texas to five singles while pitching seven innings to win his eighth consecutive decision, the longest winning streak by an American League pitcher this season, as the A’s beat the Rangers 5-1 on Thursday for a series split.

“Seven innings nowadays feels like nine for a starter,” Manager Bob Melvin said. “That’s what he sets out to do. He wants to go out there and take some pressure off the bullpen. He wants to pitch deep in games.”

Since losing to Houston on April 1, and then against the Los Angels Dodgers five days later, Bassitt (8-2) had gone 8-0 with a 2.95 ERA in 14 starts. It is the longest winning streak in his seven big league seasons, the last six with Oakland.

Jed Lowrie drove in runs with a single and a no-doubt home run for the A’s (46-31), whose four-game split dropped then behind Houston in the AL West.

Bassitt was facing what was to be his last batter regardless in the seventh when Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the new Rangers shortstop after they traded 12-year starter Elvis Andrus to Oakland just before spring training, grounded into an inning-ending double play. Andrus made a sliding grab up the middle and flipped the ball with his glove to second baseman Lowrie for the relay to first.

“Pretty vintage Elvis,” Lowrie said.

“An amazing play by Elvis, so he saved me there,” Bassitt said.

Lowrie’s RBI single in the first was already the fourth hit for the A’s, and put them up 3-0 against lefthander Kolby Allard (2-3). Ramon Laureano had an RBI double and another run scored on a groundout. YANKEES 8, ROYALS 1 Aaron Judge homered for the first of his three hits, Gary Sanchez connected for the second consecutive game and New York beat Kansas City.

RAYS 1, RED SOX 0 Kevin Kiermaier broke up a combined no-hit bid by Boston with a oneout double in the eighth inning and Manuel Margot scored on a wild pitch in the ninth to give Tampa Bay a victory.

BLUE JAYS 9, ORIOLES 0 Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit his first grand slam in a six-run first inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took over sole possession of the home run lead with his 24th, and Toronto extended Baltimore’s road losing streak to 20 games. ASTROS 12, TIGERS 3 Carlos Correa had three hits and drove in three runs, helping Houston beat Detroit to extend its winning streak to 11. INDIANS 4, TWINS 1 Eddie Rosario broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-run single and Cleveland defeated Minnesota.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

REDS 5, BRAVES 3 Tony Santillan allowed one run in six innings to earn his first major league victory and Nick Castellanos hit a tworun home run, lifting Cincinnati to a victory over Atlanta.

NATIONALS 7, MARLINS 3 Kyle Schwarber homered twice, raising his season total to 21 by hitting 12 in his past 13 games, and Washington beat Miami for its 10th win in 11 games. PIRATES 8, CARDINALS 2 Chad Kuhl limited St. Louis to three hits in six innings and Bryan Reynolds homered and drove in four runs as Pittsburgh defeated the Cardinals.