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OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Small market, huge accomplishment. The Oakland Athletics completed one of baseball's best stories, clinching their first division title since 1992 with a 3-0 blanking of the Texas Rangers as Tim Hudson allowed four hits over eight innings. Jason Isringhausen pitched out of a jam in the ninth and Ramon Hernandez snapped a scoreless tie with a seventh-inning single for Oakland. With two aboard in the ninth, Isringhausen caught pinch-hitter Frank Catalanotto looking at a third strike to record the final out and touch off a wild celebration. The A's, with one of baseball's smallest payrolls, went 18-4 down the stretch. Hudson, who is 31-8 in two seasons in the major leagues, allowed two singles and two doubles. He walked two and struck out 10 in winning his seventh straight start. "I just wanted to be out there in a big game," Hudson said. "I knew our guys would put up some run support. We got some good at-bats." "He's (Hudson) been unbelievable all year," A's left fielder Ben Grieve said. "We kind of figured this would happen. Why not have Huddy on the mound, pitching like this for the playoffs?" Oakland blended young players with a couple of influential veterans like Kevin Appier, Matt Stairs and Most Valuable Player candidate Jason Giambi. With the win, Oakland finished one-half game ahead of Seattle in the West but took the season series, rendering moot Monday's scheduled makeup game at Tampa Bay. "I'm just glad I didn't bring my suitcase to the ballpark because I didn't want to go to Tampa," Giambi said. The A's will host the two-time defending world champion New York Yankees on Tuesday and Wednesday with each game beginning at 8 p.m. EDT. "We're on a high going into the playoffs," Stairs said. "There are some teams that want to play us in the playoffs and there are some teams that don't." The game was scoreless into the seventh and Texas starter Ryan Glynn (5-7) got the first two outs of the inning. Jeremy Giambi doubled to right field and Hernandez bounced a single up the middle for a 1-0 lead. "Right now, I'm feeling so high," Hernandez said. "I was looking for a pitch and when I saw it coming, I said I can hit this for a base hit no matter what. I'm so happy to get the opportunity to play in the playoffs. I never in my life thought that this would happen." The Rangers threatened in the eighth, putting two on base, before Hudson got his biggest out, retiring Chad Curtis on a grounder to shortstop. Randy Velarde opened the bottom of the eighth with his 12th homer and, one out later, Olmedo Saenz hit his ninth homer off reliever Tim Crabtree. "I was just trying to do anything," Velarde said. "The first three at-bats, (Glynn) threw me sliders on the first pitch or threw a fastball and came at me with a slider, and that last at-bat, he threw me a fastball and I was just thinking, 'Hit it hard and maybe it will carry out.'" Isringhausen took over in the ninth and allowed one-out singles to rookies Pedro Valdes and Mike Lamb. Scott Sheldon fouled out before Isringhausen got Catalanotto looking. After the Rangers left a runner in scoring position, the A's got two aboard in the first and second innings. But in each instance, Glynn was bailed out by a double play. Texas got the first two batters on in the fifth and a bunt by Randy Knorr moved them into scoring position. But on a chopper to second base, Velarde fired home and nailed Lamb at the plate. After Scarborough Green stole second, Hudson got Royce Clayton to ground out. Glynn allowed two runs and six hits over seven-plus innings. He walked four and struck out four but lost his fourth straight start. "These two young guys, Hudson and Glynn, locked up," Texas manager Johnny Oates said. "One's a 20-game winner, the other's been struggling all year, and they gave us a great game. "It shows what can happen any day. It's tough to play when one team is playing for all the marbles and the other team is really doing nothing. Ryan matched Tim pitch for pitch for seven innings."
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