Denzel Clarke’s bat often is quiet, but his glove continues to be a loud winning ingredient.

The Athletics’ center fielder excels at robbing homers, with the latest time coming on Tuesday. Now Clarke and the A’s will seek their seventh victory in eight games when they face the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night at West Sacramento, Calif.

Clarke’s thievery of Andrew McCutchen, along with Jacob Wilson’s two-run single in the third inning, were big components of the A’s 2-1 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday in the second contest of a four-game series.

Texas won the opener 8-1 on Monday.

On Tuesday, the Athletics held their one-run edge with two outs in the fourth inning when McCutchen’s bid for a tying homer came up empty. That’s because Clarke ran back, measured the drive, and leaped above the fence to make the catch.

That further increased Clarke’s reputation as a defensive wizard, as he made several stellar catches last season for the A’s.

Left-hander Jeffrey Springs (3-0) gave up one run and three hits over 6 1/3 innings to pick up the win on Tuesday. He praised Clarke afterward.

“It’s beautiful to see how he plays in the outfield,” Springs said. “The territory he covers, the way he gets to the ball, to reach balls he shouldn’t be able to reach, his athletic ability to jump right where the ball is going to drop. It’s not easy, but he makes it look easy.”

What’s harder for Clarke is hitting big-league pitchers. He went 1-for-3 on Tuesday — scoring on Wilson’s hit — and struck out twice as his average increased to .163.

Clarke, who will turn 26 on May 1, has struck out 19 times in 43 at-bats.

The Athletics have envisioned him as a solid base stealer, but he knows why he has no steals this season.

“The hardest part is getting on,” Clarke said. “But we’re working on that, we’re chipping away at that.”

Texas had just four hits on Tuesday, and two came in the first inning — Brandon Nimmo’s leadoff double and Jake Burger’s two-out RBI single.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said he thought the at-bats against Springs were also good in the second and third innings before things disintegrated.

“Then we lost our approach a little bit and swung outside the zone,” Schumaker said, indicating Springs’ changeup was particularly troublesome.

Wyatt Langford returned to the lineup as the designated hitter for the Rangers after a three-game absence because of a quadriceps injury. He was 0-for-3 with a walk.

Right-hander J.T. Ginn (0-0, 3.27 ERA) will take the mound for the A’s on Wednesday. Ginn, 26, will make his second start and fifth appearance of the season. He allowed one hit in four shutout innings against the New York Mets last Friday, not pitching long enough to qualify for the victory in a 4-0 triumph.

Ginn is 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA in four career starts against the Rangers. Last season, he served up six homers in 14 2/3 innings against them while going 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA.

Right-hander Kumar Rocker (0-1, 4.50 ERA) will make his third start of the season for Texas. He received a no-decision Friday when he gave up three runs and five hits over five innings in his team’s 8-7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rocker, 26, has been roughed up in losing his two career starts vs. the A’s, allowing eight runs and 14 hits over 6 1/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

The Detroit Tigers agreed to an eight-year, $150 million contract extension with 21-year-old rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle on Wednesday.

The deal begins next season and runs through 2034, which covers his final five seasons of club control and first three years of free agency. Contract escalators in the final three years could take the value to as much as $160 million.

McGonigle, drafted in the first round in 2023, made his major league debut on Opening Day this season and is batting .311 with a .909 OPS, eight extra-base hits and eight RBIs through 17 games. He hit his first home run on Sunday in an 8-2 win against the Miami Marlins.

McGonigle will earn guaranteed salaries of $1 million in 2027, $7 million in 2028, $16 million in 2029, $21 million in 2030, $22 million in 2031 and $23 million in 2032, 2033 and 2034. The deal includes a $14 million signing bonus.

A left-handed hitter, McGonigle was ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the majors by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline entering the 2026 season.

Over parts of three seasons in the minors (2023-25), he batted .308 with 25 homers, 130 RBIs and 40 stolen bases in 183 games.

–Field Level Media

Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran said his obscene gesture in Minneapolis on Tuesday night was directed at a fan who told him to kill himself.

Duran has been open about his mental health, discussing a battle with depression and a suicide attempt in a Netflix series that debuted last year.

He said the fan crossed the line with his remarks as Duran returned to the dugout at Target Field after a fifth-inning groundout in Boston’s 6-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

“Somebody just told me to kill myself,” Duran said. “I’m used to it at this point, you know? I mean, s— happens. I mean, I’m going to flip somebody off if they say something to me, but it is what it is. I shouldn’t react like that, but that kind of stuff is still kind of triggering.”

Duran, 29, could face a fine or suspension from the league for the incident. He was suspended for two games in 2024 after directing an anti-gay slur to a fan.

“Honestly, it’s my fault for talking about my mental health because I kind of brought in the haters. So I’ve just got to get used to it,” he said. “I was just trying to hold it in and not really bring that up to the team. I mean, we’re trying to win a game. I shouldn’t even bring that up to anybody. … It just happens.”

An All-Star in 2024, Duran is off to a slow start in his sixth season with the Red Sox. He is batting .182 with a homer, 10 RBIs and 16 strikeouts through 14 games.

–Field Level Media