A's 7, Rangers 2
Coco Crisp's return to the lineup sparked the Oakland offense early and starter Gio Gonzalez allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings to give the host Athletics a 7-2 win over Texas in the rubber game of a three-game set Sunday.
Crisp, who had missed three games with a strained quadriceps, doubled and scored in the first and singled home a run in the second as Oakland chased Texas starter Matt Harrison (3-3) after five outs. Harrison (3-3) allowed four runs on six hits to drop his third straight decision.
That was enough support for Gonzalez (3-2), who allowed five hits and struck out seven. The A's added two runs in the third inning and one in the seventh to pick up their third win in four games. The offense was a nice change for Gonzalez, who had received just four runs of support in his previous four starts combined.
Oakland's offense had scored just 10 runs in its previous four games but got a boost at the top of the lineup. Crisp, Daric Barton and Conor Jackson combined to go 5-for-12 with two walks, three runs and three RBIs. Jackson opened the scoring with a two-run double.