JP Sears carries no-hitter into 7th inning, Seth Brown homers as Athletics beat Rangers 1-0

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — JP Sears carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and combined with three relievers on a one-hitter, Seth Brown homered to supply the game’s only run and the Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 1-0 on Thursday.

Sears (1-1) allowed leadoff walks in the first, second and fifth innings before Adolis García ended the no-hit bid by lining a one-out single to left field in the seventh on an 0-2 sweeper. The 28-year-old left-hander was then pulled after throwing 88 pitches. He struck out five, including 2023 World Series MVP Corey Seager three times.

Sears’ longest career start lasted 7 1/3 innings, coming on July 4, 2023, in a 1-0 win at Detroit. He said he realized he had a no-hitter in either the fourth or fifth inning.

“It’s something that’s hard to ignore,” he said. “But pitch by pitch, you don’t think about it when you’re out there.”

After García’s single, Austin Adams hit Jonah Heim with a pitch. Pinch-hitter Jared Walsh then hit a blooper between the mound and second base. Second baseman Zack Gelof slid while attempting to make the catch, but dropped the ball. Adams picked up the ball and threw to third base to force García for the second out. Third baseman Abraham Toro then threw to second, forcing Heim and completing a bizarre inning-ending double play.

“No one was talking, so I just called it,” Gelof said. “Hit my glove. I saw Austin standing right there. He knew what to do.”

A’s manager Mark Kotsay calld the play the likely “momentum shifter in the game right there.”

“You’ve just got to be ready in case they don’t call (the infield fly rule),” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “And if it hits the ground, you’ve got to take off.”

Adams and Lucas Erceg didn’t allow hits in their relief stints, and Mason Miller pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.

It was the second time this week that Texas was hitless until the sixth inning. Houston’s Ronel Blanco threw 5 2/3 no-hit innings in the Astros’ 3-1 win on Sunday night.

The Rangers’ Jon Gray (0-1) gave up two singles in addition to Brown’s homer and walked one with nine strikeouts. The 32-year-old right-hander had pitched only 3 2/3 innings in each of his previous two starts.

Brown’s first homer this season, on a 1-0 change-up, was pulled 378 feet, just inside the right field foul pole.

The World Series champion Rangers were shut out for the first time this season. They lost their 2023 finale 1-0 at Seattle, a defeat that cost them the AL West title.

A’s rookie catcher Kyle McCann singled in the third inning for his first major league hit.

TRAINER’S ROOM

A’s: OF Brent Rooker (costochondral cartilage injury) was placed on the 10-day injured list.

Rangers: 1B Nathaniel Lowe (right oblique strain), who hasn’t played this season, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Friday with Double-A Frisco.

UP NEXT

A’s: RHP Paul Blackburn (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will take a season-opening 13-inning scoreless streak into Friday’s home start against Washington RHP Jake Irvin (0-1, 5.73).

Rangers: RHP Dane Dunning (1-1, 4.15) will face Houston RHP J.P. France (0-1, 4.76) in a rematch of ALCS teams in the opener of a three-game series on Friday at Minute Maid Park. The teams split four games last weekend at Globe Life Field.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Oakland Athletics pitcher Mason Miller, left, and Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, right, celebrate after a victory over the Texas Rangers in a baseball game Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Oakland Athletics pitcher JP Sears (38) is greeted in the dugout after being pulled from a baseball game against the Texas Rangers during the seventh inning Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis García reacts after a follow through of a strike from the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Oakland Athletics second base Zack Gelof (20) fails to make catch on a bloop hit by Texas Rangers' Jared Walsh (not shown) during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Oakland Athletics pitcher JP Sears reacts after being pulled during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Oakland Athletics second base Zack Gelof, top, starts a double play as Texas Rangers first base Ezequiel Duran, bottom, slides into the base during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Texas Rangers' Marcus Semien, right, steals second base as Oakland Athletics shortstop Darell Hernaiz makes the late tag during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Texas Rangers pitcher Jon Gray throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Oakland Athletics' Seth Brown scores on his solo home run against the Texas Rangers during the second inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Oakland Athletics pitcher JP Sears throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street to trim their losses for the week. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% in early trading Thursday, a day after swinging sharply when the Federal Reserve said it’s likely delaying cuts to interest rates, but not planning to raise them. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 224 points, and the Nasdaq composite was up 1%. Qualcomm rose after topping forecasts for profit and revenue in the latest quarter. Carvana soared after the used-car seller reported much better results than analysts expected. Treasury yields were mixed in the bond market.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street continued to push higher Thursday after markets swung to a mixed finish a day earlier on news that the Federal Reserve was delaying cuts to interest rates.

Futures for the S&P 500 surged 0.6% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.4% higher.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said it will likely take “longer than previously expected” to get confident enough to cut rates, a move that would ease pressure on the economy and investment prices.

At the same time, Powell said it was unlikely that a rate hike was coming at the Fed's next policy meeting in June, calming fears swirling in the market.

Traders themselves had already downshifted their expectations for rate cuts this year to one or two, if any, after coming into the year forecasting six or more.

Powell had already hinted rates may stay high for a while. That was a disappointment for Wall Street after the Fed earlier had indicated it was penciling in three cuts to rates during 2024.

In premarket equities trading, DoorDash tumbled 11% after the food delivery app issued a profit forecast that came in below analyst targets. Investors also seemed concerned about rising costs for the company, which said it increased both marketing and research spending during the quarter.

Carvana jumped 38% in off-hours trading after the online used car dealer trimmed its losses by selling a record number of cars last quarter.

Connected exercise company Peloton rose 7.8% before the bell after it announced that it's cutting about 400 employees worldwide, or 15% of its headcount, as part of a restructuring effort. The New York company, whose shares hit all-time lows last week around $3 each, also said its CEO Barry McCarthy is stepping down.

Now that the Fed rate decision has passed, outside of corporate earnings investors will be focused on labor market data. Coming later Thursday is the government's latest weekly tally of layoffs, followed by its more comprehensive April jobs report on Friday.

The labor market appears to be softening in recent months, one of the Fed's goals in its bid to corral inflation. Earlier this week, the government reported that job openings fell to their lowest level in three years.

In Europe at midday, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4%, Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% lower and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.7%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.1% and closed at 38,236.07.

The Japanese yen surged as much as 2% in early Asia hours Thursday, driven by speculation of another round of yen-buying intervention by Japanese authorities and a weaker U.S. dollar following the Fed meeting. Later, the yen reversed its course and erased most of those gains. The dollar was trading at 154.81 yen, down from 154.91 yen.

In South Korea, the Kospi was down 0.3% to 2,683.65 after official data showed consumer prices in April rose 2.9% year on year, a slower pace compared to March.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 2.4% to 18,187.56. Other markets in China remained closed for the Labor Day holiday.

Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.2% to 7,587.00.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude ended three days of declines, climbing 71 cents to $79.71 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 82 cents to $84.26 a barrel.

In currency trading, the euro cost $1.0703, down from $1.0709.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 5,018.39. The index had rallied as much as 1.2% after the Fed's news conference, but gave up those gains at the end of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 37,903.29, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.3% to 15,605.48.

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Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm as pedestrians are reflected on a glass window Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)