A's lose in bid to win playoff spot

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Oakland Athletics stalled in their bid to clinch an AL wild-card spot, losing to the last-place Texas Rangers 5-4 Saturday on home runs by rookie Jake Smolinski and Robinson Chirinos.

The A's needed to win or have Seattle lose in order to clinch a playoff slot for the third straight year. The Mariners played later Saturday night at home against the Los Angeles Angels.

The regular season is scheduled to end Sunday.

Oakland couldn't take advantage of the first chance to clinch a playoff spot by itself, even though trade deadline pickup Jeff Samardzija (5-6) faced spot starter Scott Baker after Derek Holland was a late scratch with a migraine headache.

The Rangers used eight pitchers to beat the A's for the fifth time in six games since last week. Spencer Patton (1-0), the fourth reliever, got his first major league win and Neftali Feliz earned his 13th save.

The A's have the second-worst record in the majors since they were 11 games up in the wild-card race and four games ahead of the AL West-winning Angels on Aug. 10. They've lost eight of their last 12.

Josh Donaldson and Josh Reddick had three hits apiece for Oakland, including singles in a two-run eighth that ended with Alberto Callaspo's fly ball that was caught by Smolinski at the wall in right field with two runners on base.

Baker, who hadn't pitched since Sept. 5, was pulled in the fifth inning. Left-handers Alex Claudio and Michael Kirkman got both of their outs on double plays against the first hitters they faced. Patton recorded all three outs in the seventh.

Holland's headache put big Oakland designated hitter Adam Dunn in the lineup for his 2,000th game. The active leader in games played without a trip to the postseason singled and struck out twice before Jonny Gomes pinch-hit for him in the eighth.

Donaldson, who couldn't run anywhere close to full speed because of a knee injury sustained a night earlier, homered to left for a 1-0 lead in the first and beat out an infield single in the fifth.

Samardzija had gone 23 straight innings without allowing an earned run when the Rangers got two in the first on consecutive RBI singles from Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre. Smolinski made it 3-1 with his third home run of the season, a shot to left field in the fourth.

Chirinos' 13th homer was a two-run shot that put Texas ahead 5-2 in the seventh.

TRAINER'S ROOM:

Athletics: Donaldson, who injured his left knee making a back-handed stop at third base on Friday, said he was reassured by the Rangers' medical staff that he didn't have any structural damage.

Rangers: Holland was not ruled out as the starter in Sunday's season finale after he was scratched.

UP NEXT:

Athletics: RHP Sonny Gray (13-10, 3.23) is 0-3 in five September starts and has just one win since Aug. 1. He's a loss away from matching the career-high four-game losing streak he had last month.

Rangers: Nick Martinez (5-11, 4.61) has a 2.12 ERA in his past five starts. He beat Houston on Tuesday for his first career home victory in his ninth start in Arlington. Martinez also beat Gray to complete a series sweep in Oakland last week.