Monday, December 01, 2008

By Sports Network , The Sports Network

last updated: July 25, 2008 12:10:30 PM

A battle for second place in the American League West begins tonight at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum, where the Athletics take on the hard-hitting Texas Rangers in the first of three consecutive clashes.

The A's and Rangers are currently separated by only a half-game in the division standings, although both teams are well behind the front-running Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Oakland occupies second place for the time being with a 52-49 record, but is 10 games in back of the Angels in the race for the top spot.

Texas has had the upper hand in this year's season series, though. The Rangers have won six of nine matchups with the Athletics in 2008 and took two of three tests at the Coliseum in early May.

That string of success could continue if Vicente Padilla duplicates his most recent performance in tonight's opener. The Texas right-hander returned from a stint on the disabled list and promptly fired seven shutout innings to defeat Minnesota on Sunday. Padilla limited the Twins to three hits and walked two in the Rangers' 1-0 win.

Sunday's triumph at the Metrodome moved Padilla to 8-2 in 12 road starts this season, and Texas has emerged victorious in 10 of those outings. That includes a 4-3 decision in Oakland on May 2 in which the native Nicaraguan yielded three runs -- one earned -- over 5 2/3 innings to get the win.

Padilla owns a 4-1 record with a 4.26 earned run average in 10 lifetime appearances against the A's, eight of which have been starts.

Recent addition Sean Gallagher takes the mound tonight for Oakland and will be making his third start for the Athletics since being acquired as part of the July 8 deal that sent standout pitcher Rich Harden to the Chicago Cubs.

Gallagher shined in his Oakland debut, allowing two runs and just two hits while fanning seven over seven innings to beat the Angels on July 11. The rookie then struck out seven in five frames against the Yankees on Saturday, but received a no-decision after giving up a pair of runs in his team's 4-3 defeat.

This will be the first career start against Texas for Gallagher, who is a combined 4-4 with a 4.20 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) between the Cubs and A's.

Oakland enters this series having lost seven of its last eight contests and was handed a 4-3 defeat by Tampa Bay in Wednesday's rubber match of a three- game set from Tropicana Field.

Emil Brown and Carlos Gonzalez belted back-to-back solo homers for the Athletics in the second inning, but Oakland mustered just four other hits on the day. Brown knocked in another run with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.

Oakland starter Greg Smith (5-9) took the loss after permitting four runs on five hits over the first six-plus innings. The rookie lefty was hurt by giving up homers to Jonny Gomes and Ben Zobrist during Tampa's three-run fifth.

Texas will try to rebound from Wednesday's 10-8 loss in Chicago, where the White Sox rallied for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to forge ahead.

Chicago went in front on Carlos Quentin's three-run homer off Rangers closer C.J. Wilson, who had just entered the game in place of an ineffective Eddie Guardado.

Guardado (1-2) started the bottom of the eighth with Texas holding an 8-5 lead, but the veteran lefty gave up three hits and walked one while recording only two outs. He was charged with four of the five runs allowed in the inning.

Michael Young went 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI for the Rangers, losers of two straight, while Jarrod Saltalamacchia contributed a two-run single on the afternoon.

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