A’s get to Gallardo in fifth, beat Rangers, 5-3

ARLINGTON, Texas Left-handers Sean Nolin and Vidal Nuno are a combined 5-19 in their major leaguer careers. They are the type of pitchers that contenders usually paste.

They are 2-0 against the Rangers in the last week.

Nolin, an Oakland rookie, continued Saturday night what Nuno and others started. The Rangers scored only one run in 52/3 innings against Nolin on the way to a 5-3 loss to Oakland at Globe Life Park.

The Athletics scored all their runs in the fifth inning on two homers against starter Yovani Gallardo. The Rangers are increasingly hard pressed to match that type of output when facing a left-handed starter.

Nuno, with Seattle, shut out the Rangers for seven innings Wednesday. Starting that day, the Rangers have lost three of their last four games but remain one game ahead of Minnesota for the second wild card in the American League.

The Rangers have lost four of the last five games in which the opponent started a left-hander. They have seen good lefthanders “ Toronto’s David Price and Hector Santiago of the Los Angeles Angels “ mediocre left-handers “ Seattle’s Roenis Elias and Nuno “ and the unproven Nolin.

The common thread is all five controlled the Rangers. The five starters had a 1.50 ERA for 30 combined innings.

“The tough part is we haven’t had any real production,” manager Jeff Banister said of his club’s work against left-handers. “We’ve gotten some on base. We just haven’t driven the baseball.”

This was Nolin’s fourth career major league appearance and second start this season. Acquired from Toronto in the deal that sent potential AL Most Valuable Player Josh Donaldson to the Jays, Nolin spent most of the season with Triple-A Nashville. Between two stays on the disabled list, Nolin was 2-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 14 games.

Like the left-handers who came before him, Nolin kept the Rangers off balance by showing more than a fastball.

The Rangers scored against Nolin on Mike Napoli’s leadoff homer in the second inning and went quiet. In the next four innings, the Rangers had only two runners as far as second base.

They had a chance in the seventh, putting two on for Adrian Beltre and Prince Fielder against rookie right-hander Ryan Dull. He struck out both of them.

That Oakland manager Bob Melvin stayed with Dull rather than bring in a left-hander to face Fielder speaks to what is going on with the Rangers’ designated hitter. Fielder is in an extended downturn.

In the first half, when he was an All-Star, Fielder hit .339 with 14 homers, 54 RBIs and a .521 slugging percentage. In the second half, Fielder is hitting .248 with four homers, 21 RBIs and a .343 slugging percentage. He showed some life in the ninth with a two-run double.

Fielder missed the final four months of last season after undergoing neck surgery. Banister suggested that Fielder may be dealing with “residual fatigue” as he plays a full season again.

“But mentally, I believe he’s as good as we’ve got,” Banister said. “I believe he’s capable of playing through whatever he’s got going on.”

Gallardo became the fifth Ranger to allow multiple homers in an inning this season. The departed Ross Detwiler did it twice. So did Wandy Rodriguez. Tanner Scheppers and Cole Hamels.

What made this unusual is that Gallardo shut out Oakland with only a few hard-hit balls in the first four innings. That dramatically changed in the fifth.

Five consecutive batters reached on hits. Two had homers.

After getting consecutive swings and misses on a fastball and a slider to Mark Canha, Gallardo tried to finish him with a curveball. The change to a slower sped suited Canha, who clubbed the pitch to left for a three-run homer.

Gallardo tried consecutive sliders to Danny Valencia. He fouled the first one and launched the second one for a two-run homer, putting the Rangers down 5-1.

This performance illustrated why Banister has had a quick hook with Gallardo. After his second time through the lineup, he begins to lose effectiveness.

Oakand went 3-for-16 with two walks the first two times around the order against Gallardo. The Athletics were 4-for-4 with the two homers after that.

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