83-69 - Hamels calls for double play to beat Lawyer Ball, Rangers sweep

Cole Hamels got his first crack at the Oakland A's as a Ranger and survived Oakland's Lawyer Ball tactics by calling on the double play dinosaur four times in the first five innings.

At the plate, the Rangers kept doing what they've done all second half by scoring in the first inning and not looking back. As had become a trend during this three-game set, the Rangers just kept piling on runs and finished with eight in the 8-1 victory.

The Rangers are now a season-high 14 games above .500 and have a season-high 3.5 game lead in the American League West with ten games to go. The magic number for Texas is now at Pudge Rodriguez.

Player of the Game: Delino DeShields led off the game with a bloop single to CF and, for the first time all season, Billy Burns was unable to make an absurd diving catch which proved to be a positive omen for the afternoon. DeShields stole second base and scored on Shin-Soo Choo's double to put Texas ahead 1-0 just two batters into the game and finished 3-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.