Until recently, Raul Alcantara was a footnote in a trade that happened nearly five years ago.
Now, he’s trying to position himself to become a factor in the A’s starting rotation in 2017. Alcantara rode the wave of another huge offensive game from his teammates and pocketed his first major league victory in Oakland’s 11-2 rout of the Texas Rangers on Saturday.
The right-hander from the Dominican Republic went 5 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and two runs. It wasn’t spectacular — in fact, it fell short of a “quality start” — but if you’ve watched either of Alcantara’s past two outings, you come away feeling good about his promise.