MLB Standings: Rangers reduce AL West magic number to three

After recording a crucial 9-7 win over the Oakland A's Thursday, the Texas Rangers have built a four-game lead in the American League West and reduced their magic number for clinching the division to three. Oakland remains a potential spoiler, while the Los Angeles Angels can do no better than tie the Rangers at this point.

Even with their current lead, the Rangers are far from certain to take the division. In fact, their schedule will do its best to keep things interesting. Texas opens a three-game set with the Angels Friday, as Los Angeles desperately tries to remain in the playoff hunt.

In the meantime, Oakland begins a six-game homestand with a visit from the less-than-daunting Seattle Mariners Friday. If the race remains in doubt after those two series, it will be decided on the field when Texas closes the season with three games at Oakland.

Even if they fail to win their division, the Rangers are virtually assured of making the postseason.

In the worst-case scenario -- the Rangers lose all six games, while the Angels and A's win their six -- Texas would face the Angels in Anaheim in a play-in game with a chance to win the second wild card spot.

The full MLB standings are available at SI.com.

Rangers vs. Athletics: Texas clinches playoff berth in 9-7 Win

The Rangers got three RBI from Mike Napoli and six innings of seven-hit ball from pitcher Matt Harrison as they clinched their third consecutive post-season berth with a 9-7 win over Oakland Thursday.

Athletics vs. Rangers: Game time, tv schedule and more

The Oakland Athletics inched closer in the standings to the AL West division-leading Texas Rangers by jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. The A's earned the 9-3 win on Wednesday night, and Texas will look to salvage a series split on Thursday afternoon.

Rangers starter Martin Perez only lasted ⅔ of the first inning prior to getting pulled, but not before he allowed five earned runs and six hits in a lead Oakland wouldn't relinquish on the night.

With the victory, the Athletics -- currently owners of one of the two AL Wild Card spots -- crept to three games behind the Rangers in the AL West entering Thursday and grabbed the 8-7 overall lead in the teams' head-to-head season series.

In need of a quality start, Texas will send Matt Harrison (17-10, 3.17 ERA) to the hill to face Oakland's Travis Blackley (5-3, 3.75 ERA). In his last appearance, Harrison took a tough loss after going eight innings and allowing only one earned run on Sept. 22 at the Seattle Mariners.

First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. CT at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, and can be seen on Fox Sports Southwest.

A's vs. Rangers final score: Texas fails to pick up pitching, falls 9-3

After splitting the first two games of their four-game series against the Oakland Athletics, the Texas Rangers fell to Jarrod Parker and the A's 9-3 on Wednesday night.

21-year-old Martin Perez started the game for Texas, but the young southpaw was unable to escape the first inning. Perez allowed five runs on six hits before being pulled by manager Ron Washington.

Opposing Perez was the rookie Parker. Like Perez, Parker found himself in trouble early in the game, but the 23-year-old was able to escape before the Rangers were able to hit themselves back into the game. The righty allowed three runs on five hits in six innings of work while whiffing eight Rangers on the night.

With the Rangers down early, manager Ron Washington took advantage of his expanded bullpen by saving his top relievers and instead using several young relievers to patch up the remainder of the game.

Texas will now be looking to split their four-game series against Oakland on Thursday, which would also help the team extend its division lead to four games.

Yu Darvish Injury: Rangers hurler feeling better, could pitch before Sunday

Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish's neck soreness regressed quite a bit between Tuesday and Wednesday, meaning the hurler could return before his next scheduled start, according to Evan Grant of DallasNews.com.

Darvish was originally scheduled to make starts Tuesday and Sunday of this week, but he was scratched from the former with a stiff neck. While he appears to be on track to make his Sunday start, Rangers manager Ron Washington hasn't ruled out sending Darvish to the mound before that:

"It's just a consideration. We have to see how he is. Right now, he's on schedule for Sunday."

Having Darvish pitch before Sunday would allow the entire Rangers rotation to have an extra day of rest down the stretch, which would be key for a team that is trying to lock up a postseason berth. Texas's magic number to clinch the AL West sits at five entering Wednesday night's game, while its magic number to earn a postseason berth of any kind is three.

A's vs. Rangers Lineups: Moreland back in at 1B for Texas

The Texas Rangers will look to rebound from a 10-inning loss to the Oakland Athletics as the two teams get set to play Game 3 of their four-game series on Wednesday night in Arlington, Texas. First baseman Mitch Moreland, who is 4-for-7 at the plate in his last two starts, is in the lineup after sitting out for most of Tuesday's game.

Here are the full lineups:

A's

1. Stephen Drew SS
2. Jonny Gomes LF
3. Yoenis Cespedes CF
4. Chris Carter DH
5. Brandon Moss B
6. Josh Donaldson 3B
7. Josh Reddick RF
8. Derek Norris C
9. Cliff Pennington 2B

Rangers

1. Ian Kinsler 2B
2. Elvis Andrus SS
3. Josh Hamilton CF
4. Adrian Beltre 3B
5. Nelson Cruz RF
6. Michael Young DH
7. David Murphy LF
8. Mike Napoli C
9. Mitch Moreland 1B

Martin Perez (1-2, 3.78 ERA) will take the mound for the Rangers. The 21-year-old lefty recently returned to the starting rotation for the first time in a month, and allowed three earned runs in four innings his last time out. Meanwhile, Jarrod Parker (11-8, 3.40 ERA) gets the ball for Oakland. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT.

Rangers vs. Athletics: Game time, TV info and more

Texas sends rookie Martin Perez to the mound in a crucial September game against second-place Oakland.

2012 MLB Playoff Standings: Rangers still up 4 games on A's

There's been a lot of dramatics -- Adrian Beltre's walk-off HR on Monday, George Kottaras solo HR in the 10th on Tuesday -- in the first two games of the Rangers series with the A's, but the end result is the status quo in the AL West.

Texas, with a 91-63 record, is still four games ahead of Oakland at 87-67.

As a result, both teams may be looking past the division race.

For the Rangers, the big concern is the New York Yankees, at 89-65, who are still in the mix for home-field advantage in the AL. For the A's, the worry is the LA Angels (85-69) and the Tampa Bay Rays (84-70), two veteran teams stocked with playoff experience who are desperately trying to get back into the AL wild card picture.

Either way, Texas should be in good shape, as long as they at least split the next two games in Arlington.

Athletics vs. Rangers final score: Kottaras' homer lifts Oakland, 3-2, delays Texas postseason berth

The Texas Rangers will have to wait another night to clinch a playoff berth as they were edged out by the Oakland Athletics in extra innings on Tuesday night, 3-2.

Athletics catcher George Kottaras, facing Texas reliever Mark Lowe, homered to lead off the top of the 10th inning and give Oakland the deciding advantage. Reliever Grant Balfour pitched a perfect bottom of the frame to earn his 21st save of the season.

Josh Hamilton knocked a two-RBI single to right field in the first inning to give Texas the early lead off of Athletics starter Tommy Milone, who ended up lasting six innings while only allowing the two runs, which were unearned due to a throwing error by right fielder Brandon Moss on the play, which left Hamilton on third base.

Oakland would respond against the Rangers' spot-starter Scott Feldman -- who filled in for Yu Darvish who was scratched on Tuesday due to a neck issue -- in the second as first baseman Daric Barton drove in Moss on a double to right field. Chris Carter, the Athletics' designated hitter, tied the contest at 2 in the fourth inning when he launched his 16th home run of the season.

Feldman would pitch through four innings, giving up four hits and only the two earned runs.

The teams will meet for the third game of their four-game series Wednesday night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Rangers vs. Athletics: Yu Darvish to miss Tuesday start with injury

Tuesday night's pitching matchup between the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics got shaken up a bit when the Rangers announced that Yu Darvish would be missing the game with injury. In his place, the Rangers will be sending Scott Feldman (6-11, 5.39 ERA) to the mound to face off against Tommy Milone (13-10, 3.86 ERA) of Oakland.

A neck issue has been cited as the reason for Darvish's absence, as he woke up on Tuesday with stiffness and couldn't get loose enough before game-time. He may miss more than one start with the injury if it ends up being serious.

Darvish has gone 16-9 with a 3.90 ERA so far for the Rangers in 2012. With Feldman on the mound instead of Darvish, game two of the four-game set between the Athletics and Rangers may swing a bit more in the way of the away team as the A's seek a couple of wins to keep things close in the AL West as the season winds down.

Athletics vs. Rangers: Texas can clinch playoffs Tuesday night

Following a 5-4 win over the Oakland A's on Monday night, the Rangers are just one more win away from clinching a playoff spot and are increasingly close to putting the rest of the AL West too far in the rear view mirror.

With a five-game divisional lead with nine games left to play, the potentially playoff clinching game for the Rangers will feature their biggest offseason investment, Yu Darvish, attempting to seal the spot.

Darvish has recovered from a rough end to his summer with a very strong, 3-0 September. In 30 innings pitched in the month, he has allowed 11 hits and six earned runs, winning three of his four starts. His 1.80 ERA for the month is even more impressive when compared to his 5.74 July and 5.29 August.

His opposition on Tuesday night, A's pitcher Tommy Milone, hasn't had nearly as strong of a month. In 20 innings pitched in September, Milone has allowed 33 hits and 11 earned runs for a 4.95 ERA.

Clinging to a slim Wild Card lead and the dimming hope of an AL West pennant, the A's will need a resurgent performance from Milone if they hope to close the gap between them and the Rangers.

The first pitch at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is scheduled to be thrown at 7:05 p.m. CT and will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest as well as CSN-California.

For more on the Texas Rangers, be sure to check out Lone Star Ball. For more on the Athletics, head over to Athletics Nation.

Rangers Vs. Athletics: Adrian Beltre Leads Texas To 5-4 Win

As expected, the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics played a hard-fought and tight game to start off their crucial AL West series. In the end, the Rangers took the win and dealt a huge blow to Oakland's hopes of winning the West with a 5-4 win on the back of Adrian Beltre.

The two teams traded runs all game long, with Oakland getting an early jump on Texas. Derek Holland only managed three innings before he was pulled after giving up three runs on four hits while walking two A's. Texas managed to stage a comeback in the seventh inning down 4-2 when Adrian Beltre knocked in a two-run homer to tie the game up.

Finally, it was the Rangers who broke through at the end. Texas got two men on base in the bottom of the ninth with nobody out. Elvis Andrus sac-bunted to move the men to second and third, and the A's intentionally walked Josh Hamilton to load the bases. As he did in the seventh inning, Beltre made them pay with a single that knocked in the game winning run.

Game two between Texas and Oakland will be at 7:05 p.m. CT on Tuesday night.

For more on the Texas Rangers, be sure to check out Lone Star Ball. For more on the Athletics, head over to Athletics Nation.

Athletics Vs. Rangers Lineups: Josh Hamilton Returns In Key Series Opener

The Texas Rangers received good news earlier today, as it was announced Josh Hamilton will return to their lineup as his team opens an important four-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Monday night in Texas.

The Rangers, owners of the American League's best record, currently lead the A's by four games with just ten remaining. Texas will go with Derek Holland (11-6, 4.42 ERA) on the mound, who has a 5.06 ERA against Oakland this season. The A's will counter with Dan Straily (2-1, 4.13), who is making his first appearance against the Rangers.

Here are the rest of tonight's lineups:

ATHLETICS (86-66)

1. Stephen Drew SS
2. Jonny Gomes DH
3. Yoenis Cespedes CF
4. Chris Carter 1B
5. Brandon Moss LF
6. Josh Donaldson 3B
7. Josh Reddick RF
8. Derek Norris C
9. Cliff Pennington 2B

RANGERS (90-62)

1. Ian Kinsler 2B
2. Elvis Andrus SS
3. Josh Hamilton CF
4. Adrian Beltre 3B
5. Nelson Cruz RF
6. Michael Young DH
7. David Murphy LF
8. Mike Napoli C
9. Mitch Moreland 1B

Josh Hamilton Returns To Lineup After Ocular Keratitis Problem

The American League-leading Texas Rangers receive a shot in the arm tonight, as slugger Josh Hamilton returns to the lineup against the Oakland A's.

Hamilton's bat returns after the power hitter missed five starts in series against division opponents the Los Angeles Angels and the Seattle Mariners. He was pulled in the fourth inning of the Rangers' game on Sept. 18, after suffering from blurry vision initially blamed on sinus problems.

Curiously, the club now says Hamilton's condition was ocular keratitis, which is blurred vision caused by "too much caffeine and sports drinks," according to Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas.

Regardless of the cause, the lefty returns to open the series against Oakland, who currently trails Texas by four games in the A.L. West division. Hamilton has hit .287 this season, including a team-leading 42 home runs and 123 RBI. Before his departure, he was hitting just .231 in the month of September.

For more on the Texas Rangers, visit Lone Star Ball. Head to Baseball Nation for all your MLB news and notes, as well as SB Nation's YouTube channel:

What Is Happening In Oakland?

On the morning of a big series with the Rangers closest rivals in the AL West, we take a look at how the Oakland A's have gotten to this point.

Athletics Vs. Rangers Series Preview: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The Texas Rangers begin a crucial four-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Monday in Arlington.