Athletics 5, Rangers 0
Dallas Braden threw a complete game shutout, Daric Barton belted a two-run home run and Kurt Suzuki matched a career high with four hits as the Oakland Athletics cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.
Braden (9-9) went the distance for the second time in his past four starts, allowing only four hits with no walks and one strikeout. It was his first scoreless outing since tossing a perfect game on May 9.
Oakland took a 1-0 lead in the first on a two-out RBI single from Kevin Kouzmanoff. Barton extended the Oakland lead with a two-run blast in the third inning.
Barton scored on Suzuki’s RBI single in the fifth. Suzuki drove in Barton again in the seventh with a double to left-center field. Barton scored four of the A’s five runs.
Rangers starter Rich Harden (5-5) lasted only 4 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Harden was coming off a start in which he threw 6 2/3 innings of no-hit ball against the Twins on Monday.