Saturday’s scheduled starter, Sean Manaea, was scratched three and a half hours before Oakland’s with upper-back tightness, and Raul Alcantara came out of the bullpen to take his place against Texas.
For the second time in the same week, Alcantara saved his team’s bacon, this time working five scoreless inning to help the A’s beat the Rangers 1-0, Oakland’s season-high sixth consecutive win and 13th victory in 16 games.
Khris Davis socked a solo homer off Miguel Gonzalez in the second inning, Davis’ 40th homer of the season. Davis, who hit 42 homers last season, is just the second player in franchise history with back-to-back 40 homer seasons, joining Philadelphia A’s Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx (1932-34).