By JANIE McCAULEY
updated 6:31 p.m. ET Sept. 22, 2011
OAKLAND, Calif. - Coco Crisp hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning, and the Oakland Athletics beat the first-place Texas Rangers 4-3 on Thursday to avoid a series sweep.
The reigning AL champion Rangers began the day with a magic number of three to clinch their second straight AL West crown. The Angels were playing at Toronto in a night game.
Texas, which began the day with a five-game lead over Los Angeles, headed home for three games with the Mariners before ending the regular season at Anaheim.
Grant Balfour (5-2) pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for the win, then Andrew Bailey finished for his 21st save in 23 chances as the A's snapped Texas' four-game winning streak and handed the Rangers just their second loss in 10 games.
Pinch-hitter Scott Sizemore hit a tying RBI groundout in the seventh against Darren Oliver. Crisp's hit came against Mike Adams (1-3) and helped stop a three-game skid.
Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba left in the eighth after experiencing a headache following a foul tip.
Adrian Beltre hit an RBI double, Nelson Cruz added a sacrifice fly and David Murphy also drove in a run for the Rangers, who couldn't hold a 3-1 lead.
Texas had its five-game winning streak at the Coliseum snapped and finished 13-6 in the season series ? matching its most wins against an opponent in one year.
Colby Lewis went 4-0 in six starts against his former A's team this year but missed a chance to join Ferguson Jenkins in becoming the only Rangers pitchers to win five games against Oakland in a season. Jenkins had been the lone pitcher in Texas history to beat an opponent five times in one year ? against the A's and Minnesota in 1974.
Lewis struck out the side in order in the fourth and finished with seven Ks and two walks. He allowed three runs and four hits in 6 1-3 innings.
Jemile Weeks hit his first major league home run in the sixth, a rare show of power for the speedy 5-foot-9, 160-pound leadoff man. His drive to right came in his 379th career at-bat.
Weeks snapped a 90-game homeless streak, the second-longest to start a career in Oakland history behind Mike Bordick's 132 games without a longball before connecting on May 10, 1992. Weeks reached base in all four of his plate appearances Thursday with two other hits.
Oakland avoided falling a season-worst 18 games below .500, which would have been its lowest since finishing the 1997 season 32 games below.
The A's completed their home schedule a day after manager Bob Melvin received a new three-year contract to be the permanent skipper. Oakland went 43-38 at the Coliseum for its second straight winning season at home. The A's finish with three games in Anaheim, then three in Seattle.
Crisp crashed his left side hard into the center-field wall trying to make a play on Beltre's second-inning double. He went down briefly but stayed in the game.
NOTES: Sizemore didn't start as he nurses shoulder tendinitis. ... Rangers RHP reliever Mark Lowe returned to Arlington to have his injured left hamstring examined by team physician Dr. Keith Meister. Lowe hurt his hamstring during warmups before Wednesday night's game. Righty reliever Michael Gonzalez also flew home Thursday because of an illness. The team didn't consider his bug to be anything serious. Gonzalez is 2-2 with one save and a 4.38 ERA in 54 outings. ... Actor Danny Glover threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... A's LHP starter Gio Gonzalez received this year's "Good Guy" award from the local chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Gonzalez (14-12) starts Friday night against the Angels trying to become Oakland's first back-to-back 15-game winner since Mark Mulder in 2003-04. Gonzalez is 5-1 with a 3.20 ERA over his last six starts. ... LHP Matt Harrison (13-9) pitches for the Rangers on Friday.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44621059/ns/sports-baseball/
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