Oakland @ Texas preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 28, 2010 ) Oakland 3, Texas 1

The Oakland Athletics are a distant second behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West standings – but it's second place nonetheless.

Behind a pitching gem from Trevor Cahill, the A’s defeated the Rangers 3-1 on Wednesday night and took sole possession of second after the Los Angeles Angels lost. Now, the A’s, who have won 10 of their past 13 games, will try to ride that momentum with right-hander Vin Mazzaro (6-2) taking the hill in the three-game series finale Thursday night.

The Rangers will counter with left-hander C.J. Wilson (9-5).

Mazzaro is scheduled to make his 11th start of the season. He's 4-0 with a 2.12 ERA over his last five outings, holding opponents to a .202 average.

Mazzaro has capitalized on his opportunity since moving into the rotation for Brett Anderson on June 8, going 5-2 with a 2.84 ERA in eight starts.

Mazzaro went six innings in his last start, allowing two runs on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts Saturday against the White Sox. He took a no-decision in his first career outing against Texas May 4, allowing four runs on two hits with four walks and four strikeouts in three innings of work.

Offensively, the A’s got a spark from catcher Kurt Suzuki on Wednesday. Suzuki was responsible for all three runs, including launching a solo home run to break a scoreless game in the sixth inning.

Suzuki added an RBI single in the eighth frame and eventually scored on a Rangers’ fielding error.

Daric Barton had a sacrifice bunt in the eighth, his 12th of the season. That is the most sac bunts by a major league first baseman since Rod Carew had 16 in 1982.

A’s reliever Craig Breslow recorded his first save of the season Wednesday, getting the final two outs of the game.

Wilson is coming off one of his best starts of the season for the Rangers. He threw eight scoreless innings against the Angels last Friday, allowing only four hits with no walks and three strikeouts in a Rangers’ 1-0 victory.

Wilson is 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA over his last three starts, lowering his ERA from 3.35 to 3.03. Wilson, who moved from the bullpen to the rotation in spring training, has held opponents to a .203 batting average for the season.

Wilson made his first career start against Oakland on May 13 of this year, allowing one run on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts in seven innings. Wilson settled for a no-decision, but the Rangers eventually won that game with a walk-off hit from Vladimir Guerrero in the 12th inning.

Offensively, the Rangers struggled on Wednesday. Nelson Cruz did extend his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games with a single in the second inning, and Guerrero put the Rangers on the board with a RBI single in the ninth. Those, however, were the lone highlights.