Two areas of emphasis for Oakland entering the season were an improved defense and early scoring.
The A’s fell far short in both areas the first two weeks of the season, but their performance Wednesday in a 9-1 victory over Texas gave a glimpse of what they could do when they put up some runs right away and don’t allow extra outs.
Everyone in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit as the A’s scored their highest run total of the season, and Oakland’s string of games with an error ended at 11. The A’s got some highlight plays from fill-in shortstop Adam Rosales, a nice development for a club that looks as if it may be without everyday shortstop Marcus Semien for at least two months.