ARLINGTON -- Welcome back to WFAA.com's live coverage of Texas Rangers home games this season! Tonight Texas looks to claim their sixth-straight win behind the arm of starter Colby Lewis (8-7, 4.29 ERA). The Oakland A's will counter with Brandon McCarthy (1-5, 3.33 ERA). Until game time, read up on today's clubhouse notes or peruse today's starting lineup. The game begins at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, and after that this blog will update after big or scoring plays to form a game narrative.
For more straight forward play-by-play, check out the Gameview. We'll be underway shortly in Arlington!
Lewis smacked around in the second:
After a scoreless first, the Oakland A's got on the board in the top of the second. A's designated hitter Josh Willingham swung hard at the first pitch of the second, an 87-mph cutter in the strike zone. He connected and launched the ball 380 feet to left field to give Oakland a 1-0 lead. It was the 23rd home run Texas starter Colby Lewis had allowed this year, making him second in the league in homers given up.
After the first out of the frame, Lewis walked David DeJesus. A fly out gave Texas two outs, but A's catcher Landon Powell singled then shortstop Cliff Pennington hit a single of his own, scoring DeJesus. Mike Maddux visited the mound with runners at the corners and two outs.
After the visit, Lewis gave up another RBI single, a hopper into right field. He then unintentionally walked center fielder Coco Crisp in four pitches, loading the bases. Left fielder Hideki Matsui was at the plate when the home plate umpire called catcher's interference on Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba, who touched Matsui's bat with his glove during the swing.
That was counted as an error or Torrealba and put Matsui on first, scoring Pennington on an unearned run. With a 4-0 Oakland lead, a ground out mercifully ended the second inning. Lewis had thrown 51 pitches through two innings.
Torrealba scores Moreland to get TX on board:
With two outs in the bottom of the second, Mitch Moreland hit a hard ground ball that Oakland second baseman Jemile Weeks couldn't handle and the Rangers first baseman reached with the single. Torrealba then erased the run that came in on the catcher's interference with a double off the center field wall for an RBI.
A's starter Brandon McCarthy got a groundout to end the second with a 4-1 lead.
Lewis calms down, Rangers tie it up:
After the nightmare of a second inning, Colby Lewis returned to right the ship in the third. He had four strikeouts across the third and fourth innings, facing the minimum in each.
He had his sixth K of the game to begin the fifth before issuing a walk to Matsui. Willingham singled to put runners at the corners, then Scott Sizemore hit into a force out that scored Matsui. Lewis got out of the top of the fifth with his seventh strikeout, trailing 5-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, Torrealba chipped in a single then so did Endy Chavez. Torrealba moved to third on the play thanks to an error by Weeks. With no outs, Ian Kinsler hit a double deep to left that bounced off the wall and scored Torrealba.
Elvis Andrus followed that with a sacrifice fly that brought in Chavez and moved Kinsler to third. Josh Hamilton then grounded out, though Kinsler scored as well to clear the bases. Adrian Beltre then smashed an 80-mph slider 385 feet to left field for a no-doubt home run that evened the score at five.
Texas had one more single off McCarthy in the bottom of the fifth before a ground out ended the inning with the game tied, 5-5.
Lewis leaves, Hunter gives up go-ahead homer:
Colby Lewis didn't return for the seventh inning, as reliever Tommy Hunter entered. Lewis' final line read six innings pitched, five hits, five runs (four earned) and three walks to nine strikeouts.
Hunter secured a ground out before giving up a solo home run to Coco Crisp on a 93-mph fastball to the outside edge of the zone. He walked Matsui in six pitches then got a fly out before catching Matsui stealing second to end the seventh.
Oakland led 6-5 heading to the bottom half of the seventh.
Hamilton wins it with walkoff two-run bomb:
Thanks to back-to-back singles from Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton in the bottom of the seventh, the Rangers had runners at the corners with one out. Adrian Beltre popped out, then Michael Young grounded into a force out that was barely made at second. The Rangers remained down one.
Hunter got the first out of the eighth before he was pulled for Darren Oliver. Oliver gave up a double, but ended the top of the eighth with two fly outs. The Texas offense couldn't get anything going in the bottom the frame.
In the top of the ninth, Oliver retired the side in order to give the offense one last shot, still trailing by one.
Endy Chavez grounded out before Ian Kinsler flied out. Elvis Andrus singled, accidentally running over A's first baseman Connor Jackson in the process. That brought up Josh Hamilton, who homered on a 95-mph fastball over the plate. It flew 435 feet to right field. That completed the biggest Texas comeback win of the year. Your final score: Rangers 7, Athletics 6.
That's it for tonight's live coverage! Check in later tonight or Sunday morning for postgame reactions from tonight's win and join us again tomorrow as the Rangers close out their homestand and head to the All-Star break.
