Athletics Smash Five Homers to Trounce Rangers

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

September 2, 2026

Athletics 9, Rangers 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (Sep 2) — The Texas Rangers fell victim to a five-homer day by the Athletics, losing 9–2, Wednesday afternoon. Henry Bolte hit two of those homers, giving him his first career multi-homer game. The victory gives the Athletics the season series with the Rangers with a record of 7–6. With this series in the books, the Rangers continue their homestand with four against the Tampa Bay Rays. That tilt will get underway Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Lefty Shane McClanahan (10–6, 3.19 ERA) will face righty Cal Quantrill (6–5, 3.01 ERA).

The Athletics, meanwhile, will finish their road trip with a four-game series with the Seattle Mariners, set to begin Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm Pacific at T-Mobile Park. Right-hander Jack Perkins (3–10, 6.42 ERA) will match up against lefty Kade Anderson (0–0, 4.50 ERA).

Rangers — Athletics Game Summary

The Rangers scored quickly in the top of the first with left-hander Jacob Lopez on the mound. On a 1–1 pitch, Ezequiel Duran led off with a home run to left. It was his 16th homer of the year, and the first leadoff blast of his career.

The Rangers scored again in the bottom of the second with another leadoff shot. This one came from Justin Foscue with a full count, and it went to center, marking his 11th bomb of the year. The Rangers now have 11 leadoff dingers this season, breaking their previous record of 10, which they set in 2023.

The Athletics took a 3–2 lead in the top of the third against lefty Cody Bradford. Denzel Clarke opened the frame with a single to left. Up next was Bolte, who sent a a 3–1 pitch to the seats in right-center, his seventh of the campaign. On deck was Zack Gelof, who made it back-to-back homers on a 1–1 pitch for his 15th bomb of the season.

The Athletics added two more in the top of the fourth. Brian Serven lined a one-out double to center. He moved to third on a groundout to second by Clarke. Moments later, Bolte connected on a 3–2 pitch, sending it to right, marking his second home run of the afternoon.

Homer Happy

The Athletics made it an 8–2 ballgame in the top of the fifth off reliever Robby Ahlstrom. Shortly after the Rangers payed tribute to him on the video board for his past services, their former backstop Jonah Heim blasted a 3–2 pitch to center for his 13th long ball of the season. Jeff McNeil followed with a single to right. After Michael Stefanic struck out swinging, McNeil swiped second for his eighth stolen base of 2026. Up next was Alika Williams, who deposited an 0–2 pitch to left that barely snuck inside the foul pole.

The Athletics extended their lead to 9–2 in the top of the seventh against reliever Jordan Montgomery. McNeil hit a leadoff single to right, and moved to second when Stefanic grounded to short. That brought up Williams, who drove in McNeil with a double to right.

What Went Right for the Athletics

As previously mentioned, the Athletics left the yard five times on Wednesday, and they were treated to scattered criticism from the 23,801 in attendance. The Athletics spread their offense throughout the entire game. Some of it came early, and some of it came late. Bolte, Heim, Williams, and Gelof came up big with their moonshots.

What Went Wrong for the Athletics

The Athletics also gave up a couple of long balls, both of the leadoff variety from Duran and Foscue.

Tough Day for Bradford

Rangers starter Cody Bradford drew the loss Wednesday, dropping his record to 0–4. He pitched four innings and allowed five runs, all earned. All of the runs he yielded came on three home runs, two by Bolte and one by Gelof. Wednesday signified his shortest outing of the season. His previous shortest was 4 1/3 innings in his season debut August 5 versus the San Francisco Giants. While the three homers he surrendered matched a career high, Bradford struck out the side in the first inning, signaling his first time to record three punch-outs in a single frame this season.

It is the fifth such instance in his career. Bradford has lost four consecutive decisions and in three straight starts, both career-long streaks. After the Rangers won his first start on August 5 against the Giants, they have lost five straight Bradford starts, failing to provide more than two runs of support in each of those outings.

Six Innings for Lopez

Athletics starter Jacob Lopez picked up the win to move to 6–4 after pitching six frames. His line was 6 H, 2 R-ER, 2 BB, and 7 SO. Lopez allowed the leadoff bomb to Duran, his second leadoff home run surrendered this year. The first was to Yandy Díaz on August 10. Lopez surrendered another solo shot to Foscue in the second, his fifth time allowing two homers this year. He allowed three singles and two walks over his final four innings, stranding them all. Lopez turned in his fourth quality start, all coming within his last five starts, including a six-inning outing on 8/16 versus the Rangers where he gave up two earned runs. His 2.36 ERA since the All-Star break is eighth in the AL.

Schumaker’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker gave his impression of how this series has gone for his team. “I evaluate it as a good series,”, he said. We won two out of three and we would’ve like to have won today, but you know, two out of three was a good start to a homestand. Obviously we have a tough series ahead of us, so it was important to win this series at least.”