Texas Comes Back to Win, Sweep A’s
ARLINGTON, Texas — The way David Dellucci’s luck had been going, he figured his hard-hit liner would be caught for the final out.
“I went from frustration to elation,†he said.
Dellucci’s hit was just out of the reach of a diving Jermaine Dye, and skipped into the right-field corner. The double drove home two runs to give the Texas Rangers a 5-4 win over Oakland on Thursday and a three-game sweep.
“We knew we had to do that,†said Brian Jordan, who scored the winning run. “It definitely does a lot for our confidence.â€
Texas, a surprise contender after four straight last-place finishes, moved within two games of the AL West-leading Athletics with 10 to play. The Rangers have won five in a row and 10 of 13.
Dellucci had been in a five-for-44 slump and had been robbed of a hit two innings earlier. But Dye couldn’t take another hit away.
“The way he hit it, it had a lot of hook on it. It was a do-or-die play,†Dye said.
Mark Kotsay, Adam Melhuse and Bobby Crosby homered for the Athletics (87-65), who lead both Texas and Anaheim by two games.
“I’d rather be two games up than two games back,†said Oakland starter Tim Hudson, who held Texas to two runs over seven innings. “We lost a tough one; it’s going to happen.... We’ve played the whole year for 10 games.â€
Go beyond the scoreboard
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