| SEASON | CAREER |
| W13 | 14 |
| L10 | 10 |
| G29 | 34 |
| IP179.1 | 205.0 |
| BB36 | 40 |
| SO131 | 146 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W16 | 16 |
| L9 | 9 |
| G28 | 28 |
| IP184.2 | 184.0 |
| BB88 | 88 |
| SO214 | 214 |
While the Texas Rangers are one victory from a third consecutive trip to the postseason, the Oakland Athletics simply are hoping to hold onto their playoff spot down the stretch.
Yu Darvish had been expected to start Tuesday night in Arlington but was a late scratch for Texas, which can clinch at least a wild-card berth by defeating Oakland for the sixth time in eight meetings.
Just 2 1/2 hours before the game, the Rangers announced Darvish would not take the mound due to neck stiffness. Darvish, the 16-game winner who is 4-0 with a 1.46 ERA over his last five starts, will be replaced by Scott Feldman .
The Rangers (91-62) extended their AL West lead over the A's to five games with a 5-4 walkoff victory in Monday's series opener. Adrian Beltre went 3 for 5 with his 35th homer - a two-run shot in the seventh inning to tie the game - and the winning RBI single.
Josh Hamilton hit his major league-best 43rd home run after missing the previous five games due to vision problems, and Beltre has been playing through stomach pains lately.
"He's playing incredible right now," second baseman Ian Kinsler said of Beltre. "Anytime you've got a guy like that behind Josh Hamilton , it's dangerous. To get Josh back in the lineup, it obviously gives our offense a little bit of a boost because they have to pitch to Josh, and if they don't pitch to Josh, then they have to face Adrian. So it's kind of pick your poison with those two guys."Beltre was hitting .184 against Oakland this season entering Monday.
"Every game for us is big," Beltre said. "Especially facing the team right behind us. We want to clinch as early as we can."The A's loss put a damper on their chances to win a division title for the first time since 2006, and it also trimmed their lead over the idle Los Angeles Angels to two games for the AL's second wild card.
Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson homered for Oakland (86-67), which has dropped six of eight.
"It's one game. We have to bounce back," said manager Bob Melvin , whose team faces the Rangers six more times over the final nine games. "It would have been nice to start off with a win in the series, but you have to move on from it."Two-time defending AL champion Texas has never made three straight trips to the postseason, and now turns to Feldman (6-11, 5.19 ERA) to help make it happen Tuesday.
The right-hander came out of the bullpen Friday for the first time since the All-Star break in his most recent appearance, throwing three scoreless innings at Seattle. He had been struggling, going 0-5 with a 6.99 ERA in his last seven starts.
Feldman has split two starts against the A's this year but didn't pitch well in either one, allowing 12 runs and 16 hits in a combined 6 2-3 innings.
Oakland counters with Tommy Milone , who looks to regroup after a shaky outing.
Milone (13-10, 3.86) gave up three runs and nine hits while walking three in 4 2-3 innings before Oakland scored 10 times in the final four innings for a 12-4 win over Detroit on Thursday.
The left-hander has a 4.95 ERA over his last four starts, sandwiching a pair of rough outings around two solid performances. He's lost both of his starts versus the Rangers this season, allowing 10 runs - five earned - in 12 innings.
Beltre (two homers) and Hamilton (homer) each are 3 for 6 off Milone.
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AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS Oakland Athletics |
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| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 19, 2012 | Brett Anderson | Day-to-Day | Left game - strained right oblique |
| September 05, 2012 | Brandon McCarthy | Day-to-Day | Left game - head injury |
| September 02, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 60-Day DL | Strained right shoulder |
| September 02, 2012 | Brandon Inge | Day-to-Day | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 18, 2012 | Jordan Norberto | 15-Day DL | Left shoulder tendinitis |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Dislocated right shoulder |
 Texas Rangers |
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| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 23, 2012 | Josh Hamilton | Day-to-Day | Sinus problems |
| September 18, 2012 | Tanner Scheppers | Day-to-Day | Left game - Bruised right knee |
| September 13, 2012 | Mike Olt | Day-to-Day | Plantar fasciitis, right foot |
| September 13, 2012 | Josh Hamilton | Day-to-Day | Sore left knee |
| September 12, 2012 | Adrian Beltre | Day-to-Day | Left game - strained left shoulder |
| September 09, 2012 | Roy Oswalt | Day-to-Day | Left game - sore right elbow |
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- All it took was one big swing from George Kottaras to give the Oakland Athletics a much-needed victory against the team they're chasing in the AL West.
Kottaras hit a leadoff homer in the 10th inning and the A's moved within four games of the division lead by beating the first-place Texas Rangers 3-2 Tuesday night.
"To do that and help the team in that manner was huge for me," Kottaras said. "I went up there looking for a fastball and he threw one that I could handle."
Before that, Oakland hitters were having a miserable time against the Texas bullpen. The A's managed only one hit and struck out nine times in five innings against Michael Kirkman , Koji Uehara and Alexi Ogando .
Instead of bringing in closer Joe Nathan or setup man Mike Adams , the Rangers went with Mark Lowe in the 10th.
Kottaras hit a 3-2 fastball from Lowe (0-2) into the first row of the upper deck in right field. The catcher has six home runs for the A's since he was acquired July 29 from Milwaukee.
The A's remained two games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels for the second AL wild-card spot. The Angels beat Seattle 5-4.
"Each and every win has a little bit more magnitude to it, especially against a team that's above you," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "This team's responded like this many, many times this year. It doesn't surprise me."
Lowe hadn't pitched in a week and has given up six runs in his last 1 1-3 innings. Nathan and Adams had pitched the past two days.
"Some of those other guys in the bullpen have to come in and get outs," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "It can't always be Joe Nathan or Mike Adams ."
Texas' magic number remained at five for clinching its third straight division crown.
Scheduled starter Yu Darvish was scratched by the Rangers about 2 1/2 hours before the first pitch because of a stiff neck. Scott Feldman took his place.
Feldman was removed after allowing a leadoff single to Kottaras in the fifth. The right-hander gave up two runs and four hits in four-plus innings before being relieved by Kirkman.
"I wanted to go as long as I could," said Feldman, who threw 75 pitches. "I would have loved to have thrown 100 pitches."
The A's lost the opener of the four-game series 5-4 Monday night. The teams play five more times over the final eight games of the season.
Evan Scribner (1-0) earned his first career victory with a perfect 10th, and Grant Balfour got three outs for his 21st save in 23 chances.
Oakland has played five consecutive one-run games, winning two. The A's are 3-5 on a 10-game road trip against Detroit, the New York Yankees and the Rangers.
"It's an exciting feeling to be in this position," Kottaras said. "All we can do is control how we play. We've had a bunch of tough losses, but we keep pushing."
Chris Carter hit a solo homer for the A's with two outs in the fourth to tie the score at 2. He came into the game in a 6-for-45 funk with 27 strikeouts over his last 14 games.
Oakland starter Tommy Milone gave up three straight singles to start the game before retiring 15 of his next 16 batters. The young lefty yielded two unearned runs and six hits over six innings.
"Any win is big for us and kind of gives us momentum going into the last two games of the series," Milone said.
Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus opened the first with consecutive singles. Josh Hamilton lined a single to right that went under Brandon Moss ' glove, allowing Kinsler and Andrus to score on the error.
Moss, who played his 21st game in the outfield this season, started in right for a slumping Josh Reddick - mired in an 0-for-28 slump.
Reddick came in as a pinch-hitter and lined out to end the eighth.
Moss made up for his misplay with a running catch of Andrus' deep fly on the warning track with the bases loaded to end the seventh.
Daric Barton , making his second start since being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Sept. 10, had an RBI double in the second to cut Oakland's deficit to 2-1.
NOTES: Oakland CF Coco Crisp came in as a pinch-runner in the eighth and stole second. He was not in the starting lineup for the seventh game in a row because of an eye infection. ... Andrus came into the game in a 4-for-32 slump. ... The A's struck out 15 times and have 1,322 for the season, two short of the AL record set in 2007 by Tampa Bay. ... Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach was in a front-row seat near the Texas dugout.
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Oakland Athletics
