OAKLAND — Michael Lee Aday, better known as Meat Loaf, wrote the hit song “Two Out of Three Ain't Bad.” Maybe he wrote it about baseball.
Despite Wednesday's 4-2 loss, the A's won their fourth straight series, taking -- you guessed it -- two out of three from the Rangers. Oakland also took two of three from the Astros and Mariners to go 6-3 on the homestand.
“If we win two out of three the rest of the year, we're winning the World Series,” catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. “We expect to win every game, but we're not going to be perfect. If we can just win the majority of our remaining games, we're going to be successful. This is a special group in here."
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The A's have only lost one of their last 19 series, resulting in an MLB-best 42-15 record over the past 57 games.
“We've been playing great,” manager Bob Melvin said. “They continue to have the same attitude every day. I've said many times you try to ride the wave of confidence.”
Trailing 4-0 in the seventh inning, the A's appeared dead in the water. But RBI doubles by Stephen Piscotty and Jed Lowrie cut the Rangers' lead to 4-2 heading into the ninth. The A's loaded the bases with two outs, but Nick Martini struck out swinging to end the game.
“Since I've been here, it's been a real confident team,” starting pitcher Edwin Jackson said. “This team doesn't give in. I think if you ask around the league, the word is out that we're not going to give in or give up at-bats. We're going to grind it out till the end.”
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With the Astros' 10-7 win in Seattle Wednesday, the A's once again fell into second place in the AL West. But Melvin believes his team is not concerned with the day-to-day scoreboard watching and standings analysis.
“They keep battling all the way,” Melvin said. “No quit till the last out. I think what this team is best at is just worrying about today, worrying about this game, and add them all up at the end."