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 That was the day he fouled a pitch off his left foot against the
New York Yankees, fracturing a bone.
For that matter, Smolinski hadn't even faced live pitching in a
simulated game during his long stretch on the DL.
Tell that to Oakland left-hander Scott Kazmir.
Smolinski hit his first career home run, a two-run shot off Kazmir
in the fourth inning, powering the Rangers to a 6-3 victory at the
O.co Coliseum and delivering a blow to the Athletics' wild-card
playoff push.
"I was just trying to see the ball, see the ball and get a good
pitch to hit," Smolinski said. "He kind of left it over the middle a
bit. I squared it up.
"It was fun. A blast. I'll never forget it. Kind of similar to that
first hit, but a home run is kind of cool."
The Rangers, coming off a three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves,
won their fourth consecutive game and snapped Oakland's two-game
winning streak. The A's (83-67) own the American League's top
wild-card spot, but the Kansas City Royals remain one game back, and
the Seattle Mariners pulled to within two games.
"Disappointing is what it was more than frustrating," A's manager
Bob Melvin said. "We just didn't look like we were ready to play
tonight for whatever reason defensively. We got beat all the way
around, unfortunately. I thought we'd come ready to play."
The injury-ravaged Rangers (58-92) pounded out 12 hits. Third
baseman Adrian Beltre had three hits, including two doubles. Center
fielder Leonys Martin and second baseman Rougned Odor each had two
hits.
Rangers right-hander Nick Tepesch (5-10) gave up three runs on five
hits over six innings for the victory, the first of his career
against Oakland. He ended a three-game overall losing streak and won
for the first time since Aug. 6 against the Chicago White Sox.
Neftali Feliz pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 10th save.
"We're playing great baseball right now," Tepesch said. "It's fun to
go out there. And the way we've been playing lately, everybody's
having fun and playing together and playing well."
Kazmir (14-9) lost his fourth consecutive decision over his past
five starts. He allowed nine hits and six runs, four of them earned,
over 4 1/3 innings. Kazmir, who went 9-2 over his first 15 starts,
struck out three and walked one.
"He pitched well last time out," Melvin said of Kazmir. "It didn't
look like there was as much zip on the ball."
A's first baseman Brandon Moss hit his 25th home run of the season,
a solo shot deep into the right-center-field seats off Tepesch in
the sixth inning, and third baseman Josh Donaldson had two doubles.
After snapping a 39-game homerless drought Sunday at Seattle, Moss
has homered in back-to-back games.
The Rangers scored three times in the top of the fourth off Kazmir,
taking a 3-0 lead. Left fielder Ryan Rua led off with an infield
single, and Smolinski crushed Kazmir's 0-1 fastball for a two-run
homer over the left field fence with one out.
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"Just didn't get it done," Kazmir said. "That's all you could say.
The one pitch that I really wanted back was the fastball inside that
I ended up giving up a homer. I went fastball outside and then
fastball in and got it there, but he just put a good swing on it. I
wish I had that one back."
Once Smolinski gave the Rangers the lead, they never gave it back.
"That was a real good swing," Rangers interim manager Tim Bogar
said. "He squared that ball up. I was really happy for him. We
needed something to get us jumpstarted there, and he did a great
job."
Odor kept the rally going with an infield single, beating shortstop
Jed Lowrie's throw from the edge of the outfield grass. Daniel
Robertson bounced a single over first base, and Odor came all the
way around to score as right fielder Josh Reddick threw to second,
nailing Robertson.
The A's scored twice in the bottom of the fourth, cutting Texas'
lead to 3-2.
Texas answered with three runs in the fifth, extending its lead to
6-2 and knocking Kazmir out of the game. Beltre roped a one-out
double down the left field line. Rua hit a ground ball to Lowrie,
who airmailed his throw to first for an error, and Beltre raced
home.
Catcher Robinson Chirinos lined a single to center, driving in Rua
and ending Kazmir's night. Then with two outs, Odor grounded an RBI
single to center.
NOTES: Rangers OF Shin-Soo Choo, who underwent season-ending surgery
to remove bone spurs from his left elbow on Aug. 29, will have
surgery Wednesday on his left ankle to repair torn cartilage. The
recovery time is expected to be six to eight weeks. Choo injured his
ankle in April. ... Texas OF Michael Choice (strained left
hamstring) will miss the rest of the season. He also will need six
to eight weeks to recover. ... Oakland C Geovany Soto (back spasms)
was available off the bench after missing two games but did not
play. ... 1B Stephen Vogt took a big step forward in his recovery
from a sprained left ankle that has sidelined him since Sept. 5.
Vogt faced live pitching for the first time since his injury, taking
swings against A's LHP Drew Pomeranz before the game. He also took
batting practice on the field and ran for the second consecutive
day.
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