OAKLAND -- Cold reception. The A's jumped all over 45-year-old Bartolo Colon Monday evening at the Coliseum, tagging the 45-year-old starter for seven earned runs on 10 hits over five innings. They kept the pressure on from start to finish, coming away with a 9-0 win over the Texas Rangers.
With Colon struggling, newcomer Mike Fiers threw seven innings of shutout ball in his third start for Oakland. The former Tiger allowed just one hit while striking out eight before yielding to the bullpen.
Fiers retired the final 18 batters he faced to improve to 2-0 in an A's uniform. Ryan Buchter and Shawn Kelley finished off the shutout win.
Rookie Ramon Laureano led the way for Oakland, hitting his first career home run in the third off of Colon. He crushed a second shot in the sixth inning to chase the 21-year MLB veteran to finish with a career-best five RBI on the night.
Khris Davis added a tape-measure shot in the third inning for his 37th homer of the season and Stephen Piscotty hit a bomb to deep center in the seventh to finish off the scoring.
The bottom-four hitters in the A’s lineup combined to hit 11-for-17, score seven runs and knock in seven RBI as Oakland improve to 75-40 on the season.
Texas finished the evening with just three hits. Nomar Mazara hit the lone extra-base knock for the Rangers, a double off of Fiers in the second inning.
