ESPN

The Texas Rangers watched free agent right-handed pitcher Roy Oswalt throw on Friday, but the club was just doing its due diligence, according to a source.

The source added that “nothing has changed” with the club’s situation in regards to Oswalt, meaning the team doesn’t need an additional starter at this time. That doesn’t mean something couldn’t change, but with all five pitchers in the rotation still healthy and Scott Feldman, who won 17 games as a starter in 2009 as the long reliever, the Rangers have depth at the position.

Oswalt, 34, is still looking for a job and, according to reports, wants to pitch at some point in June. Several reports say he’s worked out for the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox recently with hopes of signing a deal soon.

Oswalt met with the Rangers over the offseason, but the club determined they didn’t need his services at that time. As of now, nothing has changed in that regard.

HOUSTON -- The Silver Boot series continues at Minute Maid Park after the Rangers took Game 1 on Friday night. Saturday, the Rangers send lefty Derek Holland to take on right-hander Lucas Harrell.

Holland (3-2, 3.78 ERA): He's making his eighth start of the season and first since May 10 at Baltimore. Holland had his start pushed back four days so the club could give him some extra rest and keep Yu Darvish and Colby Lewis on their regular schedules. Holland is 2-0, with a 1.33 ERA on the road, where opponents are hitting just .181 against him. Holland picked up the victory at Baltimore, where he allowed three runs, all unearned over six innings. Against the Astros, Holland is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in two career starts. He picked up a win last season at Houston.

Harrell (2-3, 4.40 ERA): Prior to this season, Harrell had just five major league starts. Now, he's scheduled to make his ninth start Saturday night. He took the loss May 14 at Philadelphia. He gave up just two earned runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings with three strikeouts. This is Harrell's first career start versus the Rangers. Harrell's last win came May 4 against St. Louis when he pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs, three earned on seven hits. He struck out three.

Up next:
Sun. at Hou.: RHP Colby Lewis (3-3, 3.63) vs. RHP Jordan Lyles (0-0, 3.00), 1:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/FSSW

HOUSTON -- Joe Nathan couldn't remember the last time he's pitched in five consecutive games, but the Texas Rangers closer said he would do so if asked.

Friday night, Nathan earned his ninth save of the season in the Rangers' 4-1 victory over the Astros. Nathan was pitching for the fourth consecutive game. It's the first time Nathan has done so since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2010.

Nathan had a 1-2-3 ninth inning, throwing 21 pitches.

"I felt strong, I felt sharp," he said. "I made sure I threw strikes. I didn't want to go 3-2 with the first two guys, but I know in situations you can't walk guys. I tried to keep pumping strikes and get guys to put them in play."

There was concern about Nathan's availability after pitching three consecutive days, and manager Ron Washington wasn't sure before the game if his closer could or wanted to do it.

Washington said he would ask Nathan about his ability to pitch for a fourth consecutive day and the closer responded well.

The Rangers didn't have setup man Mike Adams available, so Washington juggled the bullpen responsibilities by moving Koji Uehara to Adams' spot.

Uehara threw a scoreless eighth inning, extending his scoreless streak to 10 1/3 innings. His ERA is now 1.26.

That left the ninth for Nathan, who threw the fastball with consistency on both sides of the plate.

It was the first time Nathan has pitched four consecutive days since Sept. 13-16, 2009, when he pitched for Minnesota.

"I know it's been a while, but I had Tommy John," Nathan said. "I knew we weren't going to do it in 2010 because I didn't throw an inning (due to the surgery). It was kind of tough to do it in a comeback year (2011). I think everybody with the Twin Cities were cautious in 2011. I think I threw only one back-to-back maybe once that year. It's a situation where I'm feeling better, I'm feeling stronger and I think everybody here is getting more comfortable putting me out there on consecutive days."

HOUSTON -- The good news is the Texas Rangers won the ballgame, 4-1, over the Houston Astros on Friday night. The bad news is starter Neftali Feliz struggled with his control in 4 2/3 innings and was pulled one out away from becoming the pitcher of record.

That went to left-handed reliever Robbie Ross, who went 2 1/3 innings to improve to 5-0 on the season. Manager Ron Washington pulled Feliz with two outs and two men on in the fifth inning.

"He just had problems struggling with his command tonight," Washington said. "He just was fighting himself and he just couldn't dial in that rhythm. But he only gave up three hits and one run and if he would have ever found it, it would have been one heck of a ballgame."

Feliz has just one victory this month and while the Rangers have seen some positive results from him, Friday night was not good. Feliz allowed just one run on three hits, but he walked five, including the pitcher, and he struck out six. Feliz couldn't control his fastball and struggled with his release point several times while throwing 101 pitches.

"I felt real uncomfortable trying to execute my pitches," Feliz said through an interpreter. "I was frustrated and I couldn't locate the pitches like I wanted to. I felt different. I wasn't executing. Every game is different. I just couldn't do what I wanted to do tonight."

Feliz got a little talking to by Washington in the fourth inning after he walked pitcher Wandy Rodriguez with two outs. Washington jogged to the mound and did all the talking. When he was finished, he patted Feliz and strolled back to the dugout.

Feliz struck out Jordan Schafer to end the inning.

Washington wouldn't say what was said, but joked the two were talking about going out to dinner and Feliz wanted Italian.

"He just told me to get ahead and keep trying," said Feliz, whose ERA is now 3.16.

HOUSTON --The Texas Rangers got a gutty and sloppy pitching effort from Neftali Feliz and some timely hitting to beat the Houston Astros, 4-1, in Game 1 of the Silver Boot series at Minute Maid Park on Friday night.

How it happened: It wasn't the best night for Feliz, but the Rangers bats helped him out early. Adrian Beltre drove in the first of his two runs with a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Ian Kinsler for the first run of the game in the third inning. Nelson Cruz added to the lead with an RBI single to center. In the fifth, the Rangers added one more run on an RBI double by Michael Young, who seems to have broken out of his slump with two hits and a walk. Beltre closed the deal with a solo shot to left field, that if not for that wall in left center, might have landed in Huntsville.

Long night for Feliz: Feliz was chastized by the manager, walked the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters and threw 84 pitches through four innings. When the Rangers starter's night was done, he had thrown 101 pitches in 4 2/3 innings and for a no-decision. Feliz battled trouble all night and couldn't control his fastball. he walked five, hit one batter and allowed just one run on three hits. He also struck out six. Feliz drew the ire of manager Ron Washington in the fourth inning when he walked pitcher Wandy Rodriguez with two outs. Washington jogged to the mound and after a one-sided conversation, headed back to the dugout. Feliz then struck out Jordan Schafer on three pitches. But Washington had seen enough to pull Feliz in the fifth after two more walks sandwiched around two outs. Rookie Robbie Ross retired Brian Bogusevic on a fielder's choice to end the inning. With Feliz out, Ross became the pitcher of record.

Young gets a hit: It's been a tough stretch for Young. He finished the Rangers' seven-game homestand with just four hits in 27 at-bats. He was hitless in his last 11 at-bats until a second-inning single to center ended the string. For the night, Young went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI. Before the game, Washington said Young will stay in the lineup and he felt his veteran utility man would break out of his slump. He was right and don't expect Young to sit tomorrow against a right-hander, Lucas Harrell, for Mitch Moreland.

Beltre on a tear: Third baseman Beltre has reached base in his last nine games. Friday night he went 2-for-3 with his eighth home run of the season, a blast to left center. Beltre is 12-for-46 during the last nine games with two doubles and two home runs. In the last 21 games, Beltre has six home runs, five doubles and 18 RBIs.

Joe Nathan gets the save: For the first time since 2009, closer Nathan pitched for a fourth consecutive game. Nathan, who picked up his ninth save, had uneventful ninth inning, including a strikeout to end the game. He has two saves in his last four outings and hasn't allowed a run since May 13. Sept. 13-16, Nathan went four consecutive games for the Minnesota Twins, registering three saves during that time.

Notes: Rangers fans were in full force at Minute Maid Park on Friday night. There was a "Let's Go Rangers" chant in the eighth inning. ... Rangers are now 136-131 all-time in interleague play. ... Rangers are 62-72 in NL parks. ... When Feliz pitches, the Rangers normally do well, they're 5-2 in his starts in 2012. ... Friday night was the Rangers' 14th series of the 2012 season which marked the 14th different opponent. When the Rangers begin a three-game set at Seattle on Monday, it will be the first time they've seen an opponent a second time. ... Yu Darvish will speak with reporters Saturday afternoon. ... With Mike Adams unavailable, Koji Uehara took his spot as the setup man in the eighth. He struck out one in a scoreless inning. ... Kinsler was knocked down by a pitch that sailed over his head in the ninth inning by reliever Rhiner Cruz. Kinsler flew out to deep left field and when he got back to the dugout, slammed his helmet into a cubbie hole. Cruz then hit the next batter, Elvis Andrus, who promptly stole second. ... Josh Hamilton, who had a 16-game hitting streak snapped Thursday afternoon, began a new one with a single in the third.

Next: Rangers-Astros play Game 2 of the Silver Boot series at Minute Maid Park. Derek Holland takes on Lucas Harrell at 6:15 p.m.

HOUSTON -- Texas Rangers president and CEO Nolan Ryan said Friday afternoon he expects the club won't provide slugger Josh Hamilton with a new contract during the season. The Rangers traditionally don't negotiate new contracts with players during the year.

However, second baseman Ian Kinsler signed a new contract during the first week of the season, only because talks were serious during the late stages of spring training.

That hasn't occurred with Hamilton.

"We haven't carried on the negotiations during the season because we don't feel like it's fair to Josh," said Ryan, who pointed out general manager Jon Daniels spoke briefly with Hamilton's agent during spring training. "And we don't want to do something that will be a distraction."

Hamilton is off to a fantastic start, one that Ryan says he hasn't seen in years.

Heading into the weekend, Hamilton leads the majors in home runs (18), RBIs (45) and slugging percentage (.826). He also leads the AL in batting average (.399) and is second in the AL in hits (55).

"It's hard to predict what's going to happen with Josh," Ryan said prior to Game 1 of a three-game series with the Houston Astros. "Things will have to play out."

Read the rest of the story here.

HOUSTON -- Texas Rangers closer Joe Nathan has pitched the last three games and is most likely available for Friday night's game at the Houston Astros.

Nathan has gone three innings over the last three games with five strikeouts, posting a 0.71 ERA. He is tied for fourth in the AL with eight saves.

"I haven't talked to him yet, but if there's a closing situation, you will see Nathan," Rangers manager Ron Washington said before the game.

Washington said reliever Mike Adams is not available to pitch. He's thrown 11 pitches the last two days, including six Thursday in taking the loss to the Oakland A's.

Washington said Koji Uehara will replace Adams out of the bullpen in the late innings. Uehara extended his scoreless streak to 9 1/3 innings with a scoreless eighth inning Tuesday night vs. Kansas City. He hasn't allowed a run since giving up a home run April 21 at Detroit. He leads AL pitchers with a 15-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Michael Young, baring a sudden change, will play all three games in this NL park.

Young is slumping.

He's hitless in his last 11 at bats and went .148 on the just completed seven-game homestand.

Washington said it's not a hard decision to keep Young in the lineup and play first base despite what Mitch Moreland is doing.

Moreland hit .429 over the last seven games, with eight RBIs and three home runs.

"I'm not taking Michael out of the lineup," Washington said. Later he said, "he's going to come out of this. He just doesn't look very comfortable and that happens, and sometimes you can't find that spot in that box to get comfortable. It's like most things, when you're talking about a tremendous guy that has a great eye-hand coordination. It could happen today."

Starter Derek Holland said he had one bullpen session this week and feels good about his start Saturday night against Lucas Harrell. Holland said he couldn't remember how many pitches he threw in the session but didn't work on anything specifically.

Nolan Ryan and Josh Hamilton were sought after people by the Houston media.

Ryan said he's happy to see the Astros playing much better than last year and follows them every game.

Hamilton said it was good to have a day off and even noted, "I slept in a little bit and I came in and I relaxed a little bit and didn't have to rush and get a routine in."

On his 16-game hitting streak ending after he came in as a pinch-hitter Thursday: "I didn't know what type of hitting streak I was on."

Hamilton said Nathan informed him the streak was over.

"Whatever, show up and play," Hamilton said.

HOUSTON -- The Texas Rangers begin their defense of the Silver Boot, taking on the Houston Astros in a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. After getting the day off Thursday, the sizzling Josh Hamilton returns to the lineup.

Here are the lineups:

Rangers
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
LF Josh Hamilton
3B Adrian Beltre
1B Michael Young
RF Nelson Cruz
C Mike Napoli
CF Craig Gentry
P Neftali Feliz

Astros
CF Jordan Schafer
2B Jose Altuve
LF J.D. Martinez
1B Carlos Lee
SS Jed Lowrie
RF Brian Bogusevic
3B Chris Johnson
C Jason Castro
P Wandy Rodriguez

The Silver Boot series opens with Rangers righty Neftali Feliz facing Astros lefty Wandy Rodriguez. A look at the matchup:

Feliz (3-1, 3.32): Feliz is 2-0 with three earned runs allowed in 12 innings in his last two starts, bouncing back after allowing season highs in walks (six) and runs (four) in a May 1 loss in Toronto. Feliz is holding opponents to a .188 batting average, the second lowest among American League starters. He has been especially tough against left-handed hitters, who are 11-for-72 (.153) against him. He is 0-1 with three saves and a 6.00 ERA in six relief appearances against the Astros, but five of those appearances were scoreless.

Rodriguez (3-3, 1.99): Rodriguez is sixth in the National League in ERA and tied for seventh in WHIP (0.99). Opponents are hitting only .205 against him, although Rodriguez has allowed 13 doubles. He has allowed one or no runs in five of his eight starts and is coming off one of his best starts of the season. Rodriguez struck out a season-high seven while allowing one run on three hits and a walk in eight innings against the Pirates but got a no-decision after the bullpen blew the save. He is 4-2 with a 5.13 in six career starts against the Rangers.

Hitters: Ian Kinsler has owned Rodriguez. Kinsler is 9-for-15 with three doubles, two homers and four RBIs against Rodriguez. David Murphy is 3-for-7 with a triple and a homer against the lefty. Yorvit Torrealba is 0-for-10 with three strikeouts against Rodriguez. … No Houston player has more than three at-bats against Feliz. The current Astros are 3-for-13 with five strikeouts against him, but all of the hits were for extra bases. Matt Downs is 1-for-2 with a two-run homer, Chris Johnson is 1-for-2 with a double and Carlos Lee is 1-for-2 with a double.

Up next:
Sat. at Hou.: LHP Derek Holland (3-2, 3.78) vs. RHP Lucas Harrell (2-3, 4.40), 6:15 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/FOX
Sun. at Hou.: RHP Colby Lewis (3-3, 3.63) vs. RHP Jordan Lyles (0-0, 3.00), 1:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/FSSW

The Rangers went 3-4 on their recent seven-game homestand, but are still four games up in the AL West over Oakland and seven up on the Angels. But they aren't clicking, meaning the overall stock is down this week for a team that hopes a trip to Houston can get them going again. Here's the weekly stock report:

STOCK UP

Joe Nathan: The closer has pitched two perfect innings the past two games with his velocity in the mid-90s. Nathan has settled in to his role after a rocky first week and said he hasn't thrown that hard since 2007.

Yu Darvish: The 25-year-old Japanese pitcher continues to impress. He gave up a first-inning run against Oakland on Wednesday and then didn't allow another one in the next 6 2/3 innings. He ended up with that one run allowed on four hits in 7 2/3 innings for his fifth quality start of the season. Bottom line: Darvish is pitching like an ace.

STOCK DOWN

Michael Young: One of the top hitters in the league has struggled for a few weeks now. Young is 18-for-98 (.184) in his last 23 games, including an 0-for-6 outing against the A's on Thursday. Young's career numbers tell us that he'll snap out of this soon. But it's rare to see Young struggle like this for this long.

Mike Napoli: The Rangers' catcher still isn't comfortable at the plate. He has a strikeout in 28 of 35 games and 42 on the season, which is fifth in the AL. He is 12-for-54 with no homers and four RBIs in his last 16 games. He has just one homer in his last 23 games.

There was plenty of talk late Thursday afternoon in the in-game Rangers chat and even this morning on Twitter and email about manager Ron Washington's decision to pinch hit Brandon Snyder for Mitch Moreland in the seventh inning of Thursday's eventual 5-4, 10-inning loss to the A's.

My colleague, Tim MacMahon, certainly questioned the decision, as he wrote here. And that's the great thing about baseball: We can debate strategy all the time.

But I had no issues with Washington's decision Thursday. Yes, Mitch Moreland had hit two homers, but both came against right-handed starter Brandon McCarthy. Moreland's numbers against lefties are, in a word, terrible. He's 3-for-16 vs. lefties this season. Want a longer track record? He's got a .224 career average vs. southpaws.

Snyder, on the other hand, has been crushing left-handed pitching so far this season. He was 8-for-22 (.363) with three homers and seven RBIs before that at-bat. The percentage is way in Snyder's favor over Moreland there. Homers or not, Moreland hasn't hit left-handed pitching. Essentially, Washington wanted to try to win that game in the seventh inning. And when the A's brought in lefty Jordan Norberto, who is holding lefties to a .217 average with one RBI this season, Washington played the percentages.

What if Moreland walks up there and does what he's done throughout his career against lefties in that seventh inning? Are we all talking about how Washington didn't utilize his bench? Of course we are. Washington had a hot hitter against lefties ready to go and went with him. It didn't work out. But to then say the decision was flawed because Snyder came up again two innings later in a completely different situation isn't fair. Washington is trying to win the game right there in the seventh. He felt Snyder was his best option and the numbers say he's right -- two homers by Moreland or not.

But that's just me (and Mike Peasley, I might add). What about you? Are you still fired up about this decision?

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The day off didn’t do Michael Young any good.

His slump -- a word he hates but that accurately describes the funk he’s been in for the past month -- kept going strong. Young is 18-for-98 (.184) over the past 23 games after an 0-for-6 outing that ended with Young flying out for the final out of Thursday’s extra-inning loss to the A’s.

“It’s obvious he’s not Michael,” manager Ron Washington said. “But, I think as he told you guys, he’s been there before. He’ll continue to fight. You go through parts of the year where you have to struggle to find comfort, and it looks like he’s struggling to find comfort. But I know he will. He knows he will. It’s just a matter of continuing to get at-bats.

“Right now, he’s just not comfortable up there. He’ll find it.”

Young’s track record certainly suggests that the slump won’t last much longer. The Rangers’ all-time hits leader has had a .300-plus average in seven of the past nine seasons, recording at least 200 hits in six of those campaigns. He hit a career-best .338 last season.

Young was hitting .414 this season before his struggles started. He’s down to .269 now.

“I’m not hitting the ball as hard as I’d like, but I’ve been through these before,” Young said. “It’s not something I sit there and lose sleep over. I come to the park every day, I work hard, stay the course and expect things to go my way.”

ARLINGTON, Texas – Rangers closer Joe Nathan offered Josh Hamilton a little consolation after Thursday’s loss to the A’s.

“That’s all right, dog, you can start another one,” Nathan said to Hamilton.

Hamilton’s response: “What are you talking about?”

Um, that 16-game hitting streak that was snapped with an 0-for-2 day off the bench. It was the longest active hitting streak in the big leagues and the longest in the American League this season. But it was not a big deal to Hamilton, who leads the AL in the Triple Crown categories with a .399 average, 18 homers and 45 RBIs.

“I didn’t know what it was at,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t care was what it was at. … I just don’t worry about it. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”

Hamilton, who is coming off one of the best weeks in big league history with nine homers and 18 RBIs last week, definitely hasn’t looked tired. However, he said looks can be deceiving and was grateful to get at least most of the day off.

Hamilton came off the bench to pinch-hit for Craig Gentry to lead off the bottom of the eighth and grounded out to shortstop Cliff Pennington, who was playing up the middle in the A’s shift. Hamilton lined out to Pennington in the same spot to lead off the bottom of the 10th.

Washington wanted to give Hamilton a full day off, but he said before the game that he wasn’t going to have Hamilton sitting on the bench in a potential game-winning situation.

“I’m not disappointed because one swing of the bat right there, he could have won the game for us,” Washington said. “Opportunity presented itself and I did it.”

Now Hamilton heads to Houston with the opportunity to start another hitting streak.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Rangers manager Ron Washington didn’t hesitate for a second before pinch-hitting for Mitch Moreland. Didn’t second-guess it after the fact, either.

“Not at all,” Washington said after the Rangers wrapped up their disappointing homestand with a 5-4 loss to the Oakland A’s in 10 innings. “Not at all.”

The decision to pull Moreland for Brandon Snyder with the go-ahead run on second base in the bottom of the seventh inning was purely a by-the-numbers call. Oakland brought in southpaw Jordan Norberto from the bullpen, so Washington went with the right-handed bat off the bench.

Never mind that Moreland had homered off righty starter Brandon McCarty in his previous two at-bats. That wasn’t a factor in Washington’s mind.

Why not?

“Have you been watching many ballgames? Well, there’s your answer,” Washington said tersely. “With Moreland facing lefties, what does it look like?”

Moreland’s precious few opportunities against lefties usually haven’t been pretty. He’s 3-for-16 with a solo homer against southpaws this season. In his career, Moreland has a .224 average and two homers in 147 at-bats against lefties.

“That’s that,” Washington said.

Snyder was 8-for-22 with three homers and seven RBIs against lefties this season when Washington told him to grab a bat. He’s 8-for-23 after hitting a routine fly ball to center field to end the inning.

Under normal circumstances, this was a no-brainer decision. But these weren’t normal circumstances, as Moreland had powered balls over the fences in left and right field in his previous two trips to the plate, recording the fourth two-homer game of his career.

That continued a stellar stretch for Moreland, whose early-season slump is a distant memory now. He is 21-for-56 (.375) with four doubles and five homers in his last 18 games. But Moreland can’t earn the manager’s trust to face lefties in critical situations by hitting righties hard.

Washington isn’t ready to publicly declare the 26-year-old Moreland purely a platoon player, but his decision during the seventh inning Thursday sent a pretty strong message.

“I want to get as many at-bats as I can,” Moreland said. “I always want to play. That’s just the way it goes.

“He’s the manager. He makes the decisions.”

This decision came back to bite the Rangers, whether Washington wants to admit it or not.

Snyder batted again with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, weakly grounding out to first base off of right-hander Ryan Cook. Would Moreland have fared better? We’ll never know, but the numbers would have favored him.

In the top of the 10th, a diving Snyder couldn’t stop Daric Barton’s ground ball from rolling into right field for a single that moved the winning run to third base. Would Moreland have fielded the ball? We’ll never know, but he’s a superior fielder and the ball was to his glove side, while Snyder had to try to backhand it.

But Washington’s decision was based on trying to win the game in the seventh inning. He trusted Snyder in that situation, not Moreland.

And, as far as the manager is concerned, it doesn't matter what kind of day Moreland was having up until that point.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Rangers blew a golden opportunity for their first walkoff win of the year and lost to the A’s in extra innings.

After the Rangers left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Oakland manufactured the winning run in the top of the 10th. Jonny Gomes got an infield single on a dribbler off Mike Adams that tight-roped up the third-base line, moved to third on a single by Daric Barton and scored on Kila Ka'aihue’s single.

What it means: The second-place A's pulled back within four games of the Rangers in the AL West standings. Texas (24-15) went 3-4 on this homestand.

Moreland’s muscle: Mitch Moreland did a pretty good Josh Hamilton impersonation at the plate with the Rangers’ MVP candidate getting a day off. Moreland homered twice off of Oakland starter Brandon McCarthy, the fourth two-homer day of the platoon first baseman’s career.

Moreland went opposite field for a two-run homer in the fourth inning. It looked like a routine fly off the bat, but the ball kept carrying until it cleared the 14-foot fence in left field, landing an estimated 368 feet from home plate. Moreland pulled the ball an estimated 376 feet and over the right-field wall for a homer in his next at-bat to tie the score in the sixth inning.

In a pinch: Moreland’s two homers didn’t prevent manager Ron Washington from pinch hitting for him when the A’s brought in lefty Jordan Norberto from the bullpen with a runner on second in the seventh inning. Brandon Snyder flew out to center field to end the inning.

Moreland is a .224 lifetime hitter against lefties with two homers in 147 at-bats. He is 3-for-16 with a homer against lefties this season. Snyder is 8-for-23 with three homers and seven RBIs against lefties this season.

Hamilton’s hit streak ends: Josh Hamilton’s 16-day hit streak, which was the majors’ longest active streak, is over. Hamilton wasn’t in the lineup, but he went 0-for-2 after pinch-hitting for Craig Gentry in the eighth inning. Hamilton grounded out in the eighth and lined out in the 10th.

LOB city: The Rangers had 14 men left on base, including three in the ninth inning. After Michael Young reached on an error and moved to third on an Adrian Beltre groundout and David Murphy was intentionally walked, Nelson Cruz struck out on three pitches. Mike Napoli walked to load the bases, but Snyder weakly grounded out to first base to send the game into extra innings.

No 0 for Ogando: Oakland’s Josh Reddick snapped Rangers reliever Alexi Ogando’s scoreless streak by driving a ball into the Texas bullpen for a game-tying solo home run in the seventh inning. Ogando had not allowed a run in his previous 13 appearances, spanning 15 1/3 innings. It was only the second run Ogando has allowed this season. His ERA was 0.82 after a scoreless eighth inning.

A little help: A’s manager Bob Melvin was ejected after the Rangers scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, and he had a right to rant. Replays showed that McCarthy caught Elvis Andrus’ bunt in the air, but home plate umpire Laz Diaz ruled that McCarthy trapped the ball. That was the difference between Craig Gentry scoring and a double play that would have ended the inning. It also ended McCarthy’s outing.

Cruz’s catches: Cruz made a couple of web gem-worthy diving catches in right field to rob the A’s of hits with a runner on base. Cruz laid out to make a backhand grab in the gap to take a double away from Josh Donaldson in the third inning. In the fourth inning, Cruz sprinted in to make a belly-flopping catch on a flare down the line by Jemile Weeks.

First blood: Rangers pitchers allowed at least one run in the first inning in each of the past three games. Colby Lewis gave up four runs in the first inning of Tuesday’s loss to Kansas City. Yu Darvish gave up his only run in the first inning of Wednesday’s win over the A’s. And Matt Harrison allowed three runs in the first inning Thursday.

Harrison hangs in: Harrison had a horrible first inning, allowing three runs on four hits, and it would have been worse if he didn’t pick off Jemile Weeks after a leadoff walk. However, he recovered to have a decent outing. Harrison didn’t allow another run, lasting into the sixth inning. His line (three earned runs on eight hits and three walks) wasn’t pretty, but Harrison was good enough to give the Rangers a chance to win.

Tidbits: Paid attendance was announced at 47,182. It was the Rangers’ 13th home sellout of the season, the third most in club history. … Young is 18-for-98 in the past 23 games after an 0-for-6 day, including a game-ending flyout. … Nelson Cruz went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts after getting his first game off of the season. … Adrian Beltre went 2-for-2 off of McCarthy. Beltre has a .429 career average (12-for-28 with two homers) against McCarthy. … Mike Napoli had two strikeouts, giving him 42 this season. He has at least one strikeout in 28 of the past 35 games.

Up next: Neftali Feliz faces Astros lefty Wandy Rodriguez in the Silver Boot series opener in Houston.