ARLINGTON, Texas — Yoenis Cespedes had one of Oakland's two triples during a five-run first that led to a 9-3 victory over the Rangers on Wednesday.
Oakland remained in the second AL wild-card spot, a half-game behind the Orioles, and pulled within three games of first-place Texas in the West.
The A's, who had played five consecutive one-run games, led 5-0 only eight batters into the game. They chased Martin Perez before the rookie left-hander got all the way through the batting order.
Oakland has won two of three in the series that wraps up with a day game today. After that, the A's go home for a three-game series against Seattle before hosting the Rangers for the final three games of the regular season.
Stephen Drew had four of Oakland's 16 hits, including a double leading off the game before scoring on Cespedes' triple into the right-center gap.
The A's struck out for a record 1,332nd time, the most by an American League team since 2007. The Rangers' number to win the West is hovering at five as the two teams play the finale of the four-game series today.
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