Rangers rally twice to beat A’s after rotation issue rises early

Derek Holland is ready to go, or at least that’s what the left-hander said on Tuesday.

The soonest he can pitch for the Texas Rangers is Saturday, when he is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list.

And based on what happened early Tuesday night, and what has happened in three of Lucas Harrell’s four starts since being acquired from the Atlanta Braves, Holland could be on the fast track back to the rotation.

Harrell left after the second inning of 5-4 walk-off victory in which the Rangers scored three times in the 10th inning, winning on a hit by pitch, after seeing Sam Dyson blow his fourth save of the season in the ninth.

Harrell exited early with a strained right groin, but before he did he walked four batters and walked in a run.

The Rangers could turn to Holland on Saturday, Sunday or Tuesday, when Harrell’s turn in the rotation comes up again.

“I’m available,” Holland said Tuesday shortly after arriving from a Monday rehab start at Salt Lake City. “Whatever they say is what happens. I don’t know what’s going on. I just got here, checked in and said hello to everyone. That’s it, just got to wait to find out what they say. I honestly don’t know.”

Carlos Beltran went 4 for 5 with three RBIs, including two in the 10th to tie the score, and Rougned Odor was plunked by Marc Rzepczynski on the first pitch after an intentional walk to Adrian Beltre.

The Rangers posted their MLB-leading 38th come-from-behind win of the season and improved to 27-8 in one-run games. But it wasn’t easy.

“I got a good pitch to hit and was able to get those two RBIs,” Beltran said. “For me, it’s been fun. These guys bring a lot of energy every single day. The games that we’ve been able to win, being able to come back in tough situations, that really shows the character of this ballclub.”

Manager Jeff Banister wouldn’t reveal when Holland might pitch again, nor would he speculate on Harrell’s availability for his next start.

Holland could be asked to make a third rehab start, though he threw 90 pitches Monday for Triple A Round Rock and said that he feels confident with how he pitched in his past two outings.

The Rangers also could use Nick Martinez or Chi Chi Gonzalez and bring back Holland next week. The Rangers also have off days Thursday and Monday that would allow them to reset the rotation in a few different ways.

But their primary concern is lining up the rotation for future series against Seattle, the team closest to them in the American League West. Inserting Holland on Saturday and Colby Lewis on Sept. 3 would allow the Rangers to throw Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels on Aug. 29-30 and Sept. 5-6 against the Mariners.

“You’d like to be able to line your guys up for whoever you think the right opponent is,” Banister said. “The reality is ... you start trying to juggle your rotation around to much, you start kicking around routines and guys may have settled in and have been performing well. So, you can tweak it to some degree.

“Where Derek steps in, obviously, when it’s appropriate he’ll pitch. That is to be determined by his health, the buildup [of pitches] and the need.”

Harrell was injured in the second inning as he pitched to Danny Valencia with the bases loaded and two outs. Harrell stayed in the game and walked Valencia to force in the game’s first run before getting Stephen Vogt on a fly ball to end the inning.

Alex Claudio replaced Harrell and worked four scoreless innings to give the Rangers a chance to break through, which they finally did in the sixth when Beltran laced a two-out single to right field to score Robinson Chirinos for a 1-1 tie.

Elvis Andrus drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Jake Diekman and Jeremy Jeffress worked a scoreless inning apiece, but Valencia delivered an RBI single off Dyson with two outs in the ninth. The Rangers thought that the previous batter, Coco Crisp, had interfered with catcher Robinson Chirinos’ throw to second base on a successful steal attempt by pinch-runner Tyler Ladendorf.

Oakland added two more in the 10th against Keone Kela before John Axford lost his control. He walked three straight with one out to load the bases before hanging a first-pitch curveball that Beltran dropped into center field to score two.

The game was over five pitches later.

The Rangers celebrated a victory in which they found themselves down in the second inning, when Harrell’s control failed him yet again. The Rangers could turn to Holland this weekend, and he’s believes that he’s ready after two rehab starts.

“I found everything I needed to,” Holland said. “I’ve done a much better job mixing in and out. I mixed my off-speed in real well. I feel very confident with the way everything is going.”

This story was originally published August 16, 2016 at 11:46 PM with the headline "Rangers rally twice to beat A’s after rotation issue rises early."