WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Interstat) — A late-inning comeback bid by the Texas Rangers fell one swing short Wednesday night as the Athletics held on for a 6-5 victory at Sutter Health Park, securing the series win after splitting the first two games.

In a contest defined by timely home runs and a pivotal bullpen performance, the Athletics built a four-run lead only to see it nearly vanish on one pitch before their closer slammed the door in the ninth.

Oakland struck first against Texas starter Kumar Rocker. After two quick outs in the first, Carlos Cortes worked a walk and scored when Tyler Soderstrom doubled on a fly ball to left field. They added another in the second when Max Muncy, hit by a pitch, came home on a two-out single by Denzel Clarke.

Texas, held hitless through the first two frames by Athletics starter J.T. Ginn, broke through in the third. Brandon Nimmo drew a one-out walk, and Corey Seager followed by launching a two-run homer to right-center field, his fifth of the season, tying the game at 2-2.

Ginn, the Athletics’ top star on the night, settled in after the Seager blast. He retired nine of the next ten batters he faced, allowing only a sixth-inning single to Wyatt Langford. The right-hander departed with one out in the sixth, having allowed just two hits and two runs over 5 1/3 innings, striking out three.

The game turned in the middle innings as the Athletics’ power surfaced against the Rangers’ bullpen. In the bottom of the sixth, with Jacob Latz on in relief, Lawrence Butler led off with a single, was bunted to second, and scored two batters later when catcher Shea Langeliers connected for a two-run homer to left-center, putting ahead 4-2.

An inning later, the lead grew. Facing Rangers reliever Jalen Beeks, Soderstrom walked with one out. Rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson then stepped up and drove a pitch deep to left field for his first major league home run, a two-run shot that provided a critical 6-2 cushion.

Texas refused to go quietly. In the top of the eighth against reliever Hogan Harris, Seager walked and Langford singled, putting two men on with one out. After a groundout advanced both runners, pinch-hitter Jake Burger, representing the tying run, crushed a 2-2 offering over the left-field wall for a three-run homer, his fifth, suddenly pulling the Rangers within a run at 6-5.

That swing marked the most important sequence of the game, transforming a comfortable lead into a tense one-run affair and shifting all momentum to the visiting dugout.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay turned to his bullpen to stop the bleeding. Harris struck out Josh Jung to end the eighth, and Joel Kuhnel took over for the ninth. Kuhnel was dominant, striking out Josh Smith and Andrew McCutchen swinging around a popout by Danny Jansen to secure the save, his third of the year.

Harris earned the win, improving to 1-0, while Beeks took the loss for Texas, falling to 1-1.

The Rangers managed only five hits total, with Langford’s two singles joining the homers by Seager and Burger. The Athletics collected seven hits, with Langeliers and Wilson each driving in two runs with their homers.

The game lasted 2 hours and 57 minutes in front of an announced crowd of 9,252. With the win, improved to 10-8 on the season, while Texas dropped to .500 at 9-9.

The victory gave the Athletics a 2-1 edge in the series heading into Thursday’s finale. Texas will look to earn a split before heading to Seattle, while prepares to host the Chicago White Sox.

According to Interstat, the final score closely mirrored their projection of a 6-4 Athletics win, though their ELO system had given Texas a slight 52.4% probability to win. The Rangers had been installed as pregame favorites with a -1.5 spread. The 11 combined runs went under the pregame over/under line of 9.5.