Arlington, Texas: Adrian Sampson threw a four-hitter for his first career complete game, and the Texas Rangers wrapped up a doubleheader sweep over the Oakland Athletics with a 3-1 win Saturday night.
Sampson (5-3) struck out seven and walked one over 109 pitches to win his fifth game in a row, accounting for all of his big league wins over 20 career appearances. The rookie’s first three wins came with the Rangers using an opener before he entered, and he has now won back-to-back starts.
Danny Santana got the first hit for Texas in the nightcap with a one-out single in the fifth and scored before adding an RBI triple an inning later.
After a 10-5 win in the opener of the rare day-night doubleheader in Texas, with the retirement of the No. 29 jersey of former third baseman Adrian Beltre in between games, the Rangers were without a hit off right-hander Chris Bassitt (3-2) in the nightcap until Santana.
That was the first of three consecutive singles by the bottom third of the Rangers line-up. A single by No. 9 hitter Jeff Mathis sent Santana home to tie it at 1. Shin-Soo Choo was then hit by a pitch — plunked for a club-record 58th time — before a sacrifice fly by Delino DeShields put the Rangers ahead to stay.
Mark Canha’s 10th homer, in the fourth, accounted for the only Oakland run off Sampson. In the first game, the make-up of an April 13 rainout, Tim Federowicz had an immediate impact in his debut for Texas — both at the plate and behind it.
