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It wasn’t perfect, but Jack Leiter’s second start for Texas Rangers improves on first

Leiter allowed six runs — four earned — on seven hits and no walks in four innings against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum.

OAKLAND — The defense behind him wasn’t much help, and his propensity to allow a home run or two remains a tad problematic, but Texas Rangers prospect Jack Leiter’s second major league start was an improved version of his first.

Leiter allowed six runs — four earned — on seven hits and no walks in four innings against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum. He threw 44 of his 60 pitches for strikes. Leiter, “the 27th man on the roster for Wednesday’s doubleheader,” was tagged for seven earned runs in 3 and 2/3 innings pitched against the Detroit Tigers in his major league debut last month.

Unless the Rangers make an official roster move, Leiter will return to Triple-A on Thursday.

“Results wise, obviously, a similar feeling walking off,” Leiter said. “Frustrating, got a win which made it much better. I just wish I could’ve done a little more to help the team out, help the bullpen out. You take the positives, you learn from it, and you keep moving forward.”

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The 24-year-old pitched an efficient 1-2-3 first against Oakland and converted nine of his 11 pitches for strikes during that inning, but Rangers killer Shea Langeliers jumped on a middle-middle fastball and crushed it 454 feet to left field for a two-run home run that gave the A’s a 2-1 lead. Langeliers, a Keller native and Baylor alum, hit three home runs in a single game against the Rangers in April and hit a home run off of Michael Lorenzen in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader.

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Leiter allowed a leadoff Abraham Toro single in the third and a Brent Rooker single with one out before Seth Brown grounded a double play ball to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. Lowe, a Gold Glove winner last season, misfired on his throw to shortstop Josh Smith and the ball skipped into the outfield to score Toro. Langeliers, in the next at bat, grounded back to Leiter, who kickstarted a 1-4-3 double play attempt, but Langerliers beat out second baseman Marcus Semien’s throw at first base to extend the inning and score Rooker. Both of those runs were unearned.

“Jack was really good at times, then just made some mistakes in the nitro zone,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “They took advantage of his mistakes.”

He gave up a second two-run home run in the fourth inning to Tyler Soderstrom, who clubbed a belt-high cutter into left-center field. Leiter retired the next three batters he faced to end the inning, though the Rangers replaced him with left-hander Jacob Latz to start the fifth.

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“I think I did a better job of not trying to do too much this time around,” Leiter said. “Maybe tipped the scale towards the other direction a little too far and gave them pitches that were too hittable.”

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