Texas stymies Oakland yet again

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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Asked about his team's struggles against the Texas Rangers so far this season, A's manager Bob Geren pointed to the remaining 14 games his team has with Texas as a reason for optimism.

"We've got a lot of games left (to get them back)," he said.

Shortstop Bobby Crosby pointed out the same fact but took a different approach on the subject.

"I don't know what it is, but hopefully we can figure it out," Crosby warned, "because we're going to be playing them a lot."

Texas' 6-4 victory Saturday in front of 22,899 fans at Rangers Ballpark gave the home team its fourth win over the A's in five meetings between them. That's hardly a large enough sample size to draw conclusions from. But if the A's plan to stick around and contend in the American League West, turning the tables on this division foe will certainly help.

The Rangers took care of business Saturday in unorthodox fashion. Starting pitcher Kevin Millwood left just 12 pitches into the first inning due to a mild right groin strain.

Advantage Oakland, right? Not the case, as five Texas relievers carried the load for 8ª innings, allowing nine hits but making the big pitches when they needed to.

The loss kept the A's in a first-place tie in the AL West with the Angels, who lost to the Rays.