ARLINGTON, Texas - For a game in which numerous baseballs traveled long distances, it was several plays decided by inches or less that set the tone for Oakland.
In the first inning, Matt Joyce hit a blast to center field that Carlos Gomez grabbed with a ferocious leap before it carried over the fence. And in the bottom of the inning, Oakland was on the wrong side of a replay challenge that appeared, on tape, to have resulted in a Rangers out.
Texas’ first run scored on that play, a grounder to first by Nomar Mazara that sent Gomez in from third.