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Rangers rely on Padilla in opener at Oakland

Fri 2nd, May 2008

(Sports Network) - Inconsistent right-hander Vicente Padilla will try to carry over the momentum of his finest start of the season into tonight's outing for the Texas Rangers, who begin a three-game set with the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.

Padilla, who lost 10 games for Texas last year with a 5.76 earned run average, has either been really good or really bad this year for the Rangers, but was excellent on Sunday against the Twins.

Padilla went the distance versus Minnesota, yielding seven hits and two walks while posting his third career shutout and first since the 2003 season. In his three victories and a no-decision this year, the righty is allowing 1.50 runs per game, but has been tagged for 12 runs (11 earned) in his two losses.

Padilla is 3-1 with a 4.66 ERA in nine career outings (7 starts) versus Oakland.

Texas will hope for an outing out of Padilla tonight similar to the one turned in by Sidney Ponson on Thursday. Ponson pitched eight strong innings for the Rangers in a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Ponson (1-0) gave up just one run on six hits, walking two with five strikeouts in just his second start of the season. Ramon Vazquez and Ian Kinsler backed Ponson with solo home runs for Texas, which has won four of its last six games on the heels of a seven-game losing streak.

Vazquez homered to right for the go-ahead run with one out in the bottom of the sixth, while C.J. Wilson came on in the ninth to retire the side in order and record his sixth save of the season.

The Rangers play the first of seven straight on the road tonight, and are just 5-10 as the visiting club this season.

Joe Blanton will start for Oakland on Friday. The right-hander improved to 2-4 with a 4.07 ERA after defeating Seattle on Sunday. Blanton yielded just two runs on eight hits over seven innings of work.

Blanton holds a 6-2 mark and 4.75 ERA in 11 career outings against Texas, with 10 of those being starts. The righty won both of his starts versus the Rangers last year, including a seven-inning, three-run effort at home on September 15.

On Thursday, Jack Cust homered to highlight his 4-for-4 night and scored three times, as Oakland had a season-high 20 hits in a 15-8 rout of the Angels.

Kurt Suzuki, Daric Barton, Frank Thomas, Bobby Crosby and Ryan Sweeney each had two RBI for the Athletics, who split the four-game series and did it with incredible firepower in the opening and closing contests. They won the first game, 14-2, and then proceeded to score a total of one run in losing the next two before piling it on their AL West rival in Thursday's game.

The A's and Angels are now tied for first place in the division.

Emil Brown tied his career-high with four hits, drove in a run and scored twice in the victory. Justin Duchscherer (2-1) was charged with six hits and six runs -- one earned -- over five innings to get the win for the A's.

Texas held a slight 10-9 edge over Oakland last year, but dropped six of 10 at McAfee Coliseum.

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