Henry Bolte had three hits, including a pair of two-run homers, to help the Athletics avoid a three-game sweep by the Texas Rangers with a 9-2 win on Wednesday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.
Zack Gelof, Jonah Heim and Alika Williams also homered and Jeff McNeil had two hits and scored twice for the A’s (54-86), who ended a five-game skid.
Jacob Lopez (6-4) earned the win after the left-hander went his previous six starts without a decision. He allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking two in his fourth quality start in his last five outings.
Texas starter Cody Bradford (0-4) was aiming for his first victory in his sixth start since returning from a nearly two-year absence because of elbow surgery, but the left-hander took the loss after allowing five runs on three homers and seven hits overall in four innings. He struck out three and walked one.
Ezequiel Duran had three hits in the leadoff spot, including a home run, and Justin Foscue also homered for the Rangers (69-71), who had won three in a row.
Duran led off the first with a homer to left and Foscue did the same over the center-field fence in the second to give the Rangers an early 2-0 lead.
Bradford pitched around a leadoff single by Bolte in the first, but after Denzel Clarke led off the third with a single, Bolte went the other way for a two-run homer into the right-field seats to tie it 2-2.
Gelof stepped up next and lined a high fastball over the fence in left to give the A’s a 3-2 lead.
Bolte came up with a runner aboard again in the fourth and the rookie outfielder homered just inside the right-field foul pole to extend the lead to 5-2.
The long ball continued in the fifth for the A’s, as Heim homered to center against his former team, and Williams went deep to left for a two-run shot, extending the lead to 8-2.
Williams tacked on an RBI double in the seventh to make it 9-2.
