Right-hander Shintaro Fujinami made an early exit and was charged with his fourth straight loss Saturday as the Oakland Athletics were pummeled 18-3 by the Texas Rangers.
The 29-year-old former Hanshin Tiger lasted just 2⅓ innings in which he gave up eight runs on seven hits and three walks, while striking out a pair.
Fujinami (0-4) was staked a 2-0 lead before throwing a pitch at Globe Life Field, but gave it back on Adolis Garcia's two-run first-inning home run. Things got worse for the first-year MLB player in the second, with the American League West-leading Rangers lineup adding a further five runs.
Manager Mark Kotsay yanked Fujinami with one out and a runner on in the third and the A's trailing 7-2, but the Rangers continued to have their way against the division's last-place club.
"The team gave me the lead in the first inning and it would have been nice if I could have held onto it, but I stumbled at the start," Fujinami said. "I couldn't reliably throw my fastball for strikes."
After a stronger performance in his previous outing, when he took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, Fujinami was once again unable to give the A's length as a starter. He has a 14.40 ERA four games into his MLB career, having allowed 24 runs on 19 hits in 15 innings.
At Wrigley Field, Seiya Suzuki went 0-for-3 with an RBI and a run for the Chicago Cubs in their 9-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Masataka Yoshida went 2-for-4 as the designated hitter for the Boston Reds Sox, who lost 5-4 at the Milwaukee Brewers.
Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-5 as the Los Angeles Angels' DH in an 11-8 loss to the visiting Kansas City Royals.