OAKLAND — One is an up-and-comer still adjusting to life in the big leagues.
The other is a veteran serving an important role as the A’s have traded off so many of their clubhouse leaders.
Chad Pinder and Jed Lowrie combined Saturday to lead the A’s to one of their more impressive wins of the second half, an 8-3 victory over the Texas Rangers in which the A’s knocked around Cole Hamels, one of the major leagues’ hottest pitchers of late.
Lowrie, who drove in three runs, is no rah-rah clubhouse guy or larger-than-life personality. But Pinder, a rookie who homered twice Saturday, says Lowrie has been invaluable as a sounding board to go to for advice.