Treinen (4-3) earned the win over the Rangers on Sunday, firing a scoreless ninth inning during which he allowed no hits and one walk while recording two strikeouts.
Closer Liam Hendriks was charged with his third blown save of the season in the eighth when he squandered a 4-2 lead, so Treinen got the ninth-inning call with the Athletics trailing by one. The veteran was rewarded for preventing the deficit from growing any larger when Oakland mounted a comeback in the home half of the frame, which made him the pitcher of record and afforded him his second victory over the last four appearances. Hendriks still appears to be manager Bob Melvin's go-to closing option, but the Athletics' skipper certainly took note of Treinen's six swinging strikes and improved command, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. "Mentally, that was huge for him," Melvin said. "You could see the sinker, the velocity played up as the inning went along. He found his cutter again. Threw some good sliders inside and outside. We've been looking for a springboard for him and hopefully that was it today."