Darvish the answer as Rangers top Oakland

ARLINGTON, Texas — Yu Darvish said after another sterling outing Wednesday night that he wanted the Texas Rangers to wear red jerseys to try to change things up after a couple of off nights for the team.

Having Darvish on the mound was change enough.

Darvish ran his record to 6-1 by pitching 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball as the Rangers snapped a two-game slide with a 4-1 victory over Oakland.

Darvish continued to make his case as the best starter for the Rangers and the best closer in baseball. He was 49-0 when his offense scored four or more runs for him in Japan. He's 5-0 in those situations with the Rangers.

Wednesday night the offense didn't need to give him that much support.

"You've got to wait until each start to see where it goes," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "I think he's doing exactly as advertised. He's going out there. He's keeping his team in the ballgame. He's known as a strikeout pitcher, and he's getting some strikeouts. He has some tremendous stuff. I think each time that he takes the ball, there's something new you might see."

What he showed Wednesday was that he could be a stopper after the bullpen had been stretched in consecutive losses to Kansas City. He also broke out a change-up that he hasn't used much and said he wasn't throwing with much effort.

He did ramp things up once the Rangers got him a lead with four runs in the fourth inning. Darvish allowed a run in the first, but Oakland didn't get another runner into scoring position until the eighth inning.

By that time, Darvish had settled into a rhythm and was baffling Oakland hitters. He finished with seven strikeouts, and three of the four hits he allowed were singles. He's struck out at least seven batters in five consecutive starts.

"Like I've always said, every inning no matter the hitters or the order I try to get those guys out," Darvish said. "I did have a different plan, adapting the plan each inning according to the situation. That's what I've been doing."

Darvish picking up steam once the Rangers got him the lead should come as no surprise. His ERA when he got four runs of support in Japan was 1.94. While his ERA in those situations with the Rangers isn't quite as good (3.09), he's still been good enough to be tied for the American League lead in wins with six. He has a 2.60 ERA on the season.

After a leadoff double from Jemile Weeks to open the game, the Athletics managed two-out singles in the second, third and eighth innings. It was the Weeks single in the eighth that ended Darvish's night.

One thing Darvish hasn't been able to do is complete a game. He threw 118 pitches Wednesday and wasn't happy that he couldn't finish things off.

"Today the good part is I was able to throw with less effort," Darvish said. "Like I've said before, getting taken out in the middle of an inning is not a good feeling. It's something that I'm not completely satisfied with."

Washington said he was pleased because Texas needed to give its bullpen a rest and Darvish accomplished that. Mike Adams faced just one batter in the eighth, striking out Jonny Gomes. Joe Nathan completed the game by striking out the side in the ninth as Texas pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts.

The Rangers — who played without Michael Young (rest) and Ian Kinsler (stomach flu) — had to scratch their way to get to the magical four-run mark for Darvish. Five of the nine hits the Rangers had against Oakland were infield hits. Adrian Beltre's two-run homer off Tommy Milone in the fourth inning was the big blow, but Craig Gentry also had an RBI on an infield single, and two of the runs that scored for Texas came from runners who reached on infield hits.