ARLINGTON, Texas – Oakland A's right-hander Mason Miller can have established himself as one among the American League's best closers through the primary five months of the regular season.

But his September got off to a rocky start.

Josh Jung hit a three-run homer against Miller within the tenth inning to steer the Texas Rangers to a 6-4 win over the A's on Sunday.

This loss marked the second consecutive time the A's were hit by a walk-off hit, as Leody Taveras hit a game-winning single with one out within the ninth inning within the Rangers' 3-2 win over Oakland on Saturday.

Texas has won five of its six home games by walk-off since August 5.

Miller (1-2), the American League's winning pitcher on the All-Star Game in Texas this summer, managed a scoreless ninth inning and got the primary two outs within the tenth before Adolis García hit a 2-2 slider for an RBI single and Wyatt Langford got a walk after a four-pitch foul.

Then Jung hit a 101 mph fastball from Miller in the other way and just inside the best field pole for his fifth home run.

“For some reason, Langford always seems to be able to get to my fastball when it deflects,” Miller said. “And then during the at-bat (against Jung), I kind of lost the feel of my slider, which basically allowed him to eliminate that pitch and just wait for the fastball.”

Jung, who was playing in only his twenty eighth game since missing 102 games with a broken right wrist, wasn't sure the ball was gone until it landed just a couple of rows back.

“It's positive; it gets things moving in the right direction,” said Jung, who still regretted missing an RBI opportunity earlier in the sport. “I went out and started swinging too wide again, and it felt like I had corrected that just the other day. So it's great for me that I wasn't able to swing at 100 (mph) and turn it over.”

Oakland took the lead within the tenth inning against Matt Festa (3-1), who struck out his first two batters before Seth Brown hit a decisive RBI triple and Zack Gelof followed with a double.

Miller, who hadn't pitched since Wednesday, threw 34 pitches in his 1 2/3 innings because the A's finished their road trip with a 3-3 record. Their only loss in a three-game series against Cincinnati on Thursday also got here by walk-off, when TJ Friedl capped a three-run ninth inning with a two-run single within the Reds' 10-9 victory.

Miller entered Sunday with a 1-1 record this season and a 2.08 ERA in 52 innings over 44 games. His 23 saves were sixth-best within the AL.

“The last at-bat of the game is a fastball up and in. Jung got the ball with the barrel and it goes to right field,” A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “It's a tough loss. But we had the right guy on the mound and today it just didn't go the way we wanted it to.”

Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker each had 4 hits for the A's (59-78), who had runners on first and third base within the ninth inning before Shea Langeliers hit a ground ball into an inning-ending double play. Oakland had 16 hits and left 11 runners on base.

Corey Seager hit a one-out double in the primary inning for Texas (65-72) and scored on a double by García, who had scored 6 of 40 runs in his last 11 games. García hit one other double within the sixth inning when the Rangers loaded the bases without scoring.

The Rangers at the moment are 9 1/2 games out of the third and final wild card spot within the AL, but they clinched that spot and won the series against Oakland.

“They keep fighting, that's all I have to say about them,” said Bruce Bochy, who tied Bucky Harris with 2,158 wins and is eighth on the managerial win list. “When you're down two in extra innings, you've got your hands full with one of the best closers in the game.”

Squad additions

With MLB rosters expanded by two to twenty-eight players on Sunday, the A's recalled INF Tristan Gray from Triple-A Las Vegas and signed Janson Junk, who they acquired via waivers from Houston on Saturday. Texas recalled RHP Owen White and INF Jonathan Ornelas from Triple-A Round Rock.

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Athletics: RHP Osvaldo Bido (5-3, 3.21 ERA), who’s 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA in his last 4 starts, is scheduled to pitch in the primary home game against Seattle on Monday.

Mason Miller is the most recent in a protracted history of Oakland Athletics relief pitchers to be invited to the All-Star Game.

Oakland's lineage of All-Star relief pitchers is famous, including Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley, in addition to fan favorites akin to Grant Balfour, Sean Doolittle and Liam Hendriks.

Overall, Miller is the 14th reliever signed within the franchise's 57-year run in Oakland. The hard-throwing rookie right-hander won’t only be the last, but can also be unique amongst Oakland's all-time bullpen stars. His elite four-seam fastball is probably the greatest in MLB — by some measures, the best.

You can bet that Miller, 25, will take the mound at Globe Life Field sometime Tuesday night and wow his biggest crowd yet.

Miller has thrown the fourth-fastest pitch in the key leagues this season at 103.7 mph, trailing only legendary Pittsburgh Pirates fireball pitcher Aroldis Chapman (104, 103.8) and Los Angeles Angels rookie Ben Joyce (103.9), who broke the NCAA record with a 105.5 mph heater as a pitcher for the University of Tennessee in 2022.

But Miller's sheer volume of triple-digit fastballs is unparalleled. Through the weekend, Miller has thrown 299 pitches over 100 mph, 98 greater than the second-place player, Justin Martinez of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But Miller is rather more than a tough pitcher. Excluding his three intentional walks, he has issued just 11 walks and 70 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings through the weekend. Opposing teams' hitters have a batting average of just .149 against Miller, the seventh-lowest of any MLB relief pitcher.

“I feel like Mason is different than a lot of closers,” said A's starter Paul Blackburn, who represented Oakland within the 2022 All-Star Game. “A lot of guys just throw hard and sometimes have trouble with control. Mason has control over a starter's closer stuff. That's scary to see. And it's fun to watch.”

Among qualified pitchers, Miller also has the very best average fastball velocity at 100.9, nearly a mile per hour ahead of Martinez. Joyce (101.6) leads all major league pitchers with at the least 100 pitches thrown, but has not thrown enough to qualify for the league's all-time list.

“He's throwing over 100, and those are the guys you can't try too hard with, you just have to keep it simple,” Boston's Jarren Duran, who faced Miller on Wednesday, told reporters at Fenway Park. “Those are the guys you try to pull yourself together and hit a home run, they'll just tear you to shreds.”

In addition, Miller's splitter also leads the MLB with a mean velocity of 97.6. Jhoan Duran of the Minnesota Twins is in second place with 96.8.

Miller's high-speed performances will not be without risk, in fact. He suffered a sprained ulnar collateral ligament after 4 appearances in 2023 and returned to the A's in early September after missing nearly 4 months.

In 2024, Miller became a full-time reliever, and the outcomes have been outstanding. In his first 32 appearances, Miller has a 2.27 ERA, 15 saves (the A's win Friday night was just their thirty sixth of the season) and a WHIP – the common of hits and walks per nine innings – of 0.857.

“You just can't feel that kind of adrenaline,” Miller said of his role as closer. “You feel the atmosphere, the fans, the moment in the game, the situation – all of that definitely counts.”

“Being able to put everything into one at-bat — I'm not saving anything, I'm not hiding anything. I'm going to do my best from the moment I step in the box. … In that moment, it just feels like all that competitive spirit is compressed into that one at-bat, that one inning.”

When Miller was chosen for the American League All-Star team on July 7, none aside from Fingers himself had high praise for Miller's achievements that 12 months.

“He's a big kid, he throws hard, he's got pretty good feel and he's got pretty good control. I think he'll be around for a while if he stays healthy,” Fingers said on NBC Sports Bay Area. “He throws really hard. He's got nasty stuff. I don't think I want to go against him. He'll be around for a while as a closer.”

Miller got here in as Oakland's starting pitcher and went seven hitless innings in his third profession start, however it looks like he'll stick around as a reliever. Miller was named the American League's Reliever of the Month for April and is also in contention for Rookie of the Year.

He has found his role and is playing it well: the A's next great closer.

“I'm proud of the work I've done. Seeing that on the field is almost my expectation of myself,” Miller said in May. “But when I do it myself on the big stage or watch a video, there are definitely moments where I think, 'I really did that.'”

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants placed Kyle Harrison on the 15-day injured list on Sunday after the left-handed starter sprained his right ankle while figuring out within the team's weight room the day before, in line with manager Bob Melvin.

Harrison was scheduled to start out Sunday, but left-hander Erik Miller will start as an alternative for San Francisco's final series against the Los Angeles Angels. The Giants want to salvage the ultimate game of a three-game series before starting a six-game road trip against the Chicago Cubs on Monday.

Melvid said Harrison sprained his ankle Saturday while going through his normal workout in preparation for his fifteenth start of the season. The injury was so severe, Melvin said, that a stay on the injured list was unavoidable.

Sunday's transaction was retroactive to Thursday. Also on Sunday, the Giants chosen Spencer Bivens from Triple-A Sacramento and released fellow right-hander Nick Avila.

“I'm not sure when Harrison might return,” Melvin said, “but it's obviously not ideal.”

The Giants are already without starters Blake Snell (left groin strain), Alex Cobb (left hip surgery) and Robbie Ray (Tommy John surgery). Snell, who threw a bullpen session and a simulated inning on Saturday, could return later this month, while Cobb and Ray usually are not expected back until the second half of the season.

Harrison was coming off one in every of his stronger starts of 2024, throwing just 77 pitches in 6 1/3 innings against the Houston Astros on Monday, allowing just 4 hits and one earned run within the Giants' 4-3 win.

In 14 starts this season, Harrison, in his second major league season, has thrown a complete of 77 1/3 innings, making him the Giants' second-best pitcher behind Logan Webb (92 1/3 innings). The San Jose native and De La Salle High School graduate has a record of 4-3 this yr with a 3.96 ERA.

“It's a blow,” Melvin said. “They always say you can never have too many starting pitchers, and now we know why. Some are coming back, but it's probably going to be a while.”

“Kyle has been really consistent for us. In the meantime, we're trying to find another way. You'll probably see a little more bullpen, especially today.”

Miller's start on Sunday can be his fifth of the season. This yr, he has a 1-2 record and a 3.69 ERA in 31 2/3 innings in 33 games. The Stanford product's last appearance was Friday, when he threw a scoreless inning within the Giants' 8-6 loss to the Angels.

Harrison's last win as a starter was on May 18. In his last 4 starts, Harrison was 0-2 with a 4.84 ERA, although he had just three walks and 19 strikeouts during that point.

The Giants are 2-3 at home and enter Sunday's contest one game back of the third and final wild-card spot within the National League, despite being separated by nine teams inside 2 1/2 games.

“He's definitely disappointed,” Melvin said of Harrison. “Sometimes these things just happen. It can happen anywhere. But when you're working like that and preparing for a start, it's very disappointing.”