Rangers 7, Athletics 5

ARLINGTON, Texas – Laynce Nix and Michael Young hit consecutive two-run singles with two out in the bottom of the eighth, helping the Texas Rangers rally from an early four-run deficit to beat the Oakland Athletics 7-5 and reclaim first place in the AL West.

Oakland starter Rich Harden held Texas hitless until the fourth inning and he left after six with a 4-2 lead. That seemed pretty safe in the hands of a bullpen that had gone 20 scoreless innings until closer Octavio Dotel gave up a run in the ninth inning Thursday night.

Justin Lehr began the Athletics’ problems by giving up a solo homer to Mark Teixeira in the eighth. After giving up a single to Gary Matthews Jr., Chad Bradford (5-5) came in and retired the first batter, but then loaded the bases by intentionally walking David Dellucci and hitting pinch-hitter Kevin Mench on the foot.

Nix, the No. 9 hitter, fouled off several 0-2 pitches then lined one into right field to put Texas ahead for the first time. Young followed with a single to left for a 7-4 lead.

Rangers closer Francisco Cordero, who on Thursday signed an $8 million, two-year extension, allowed Damian Miller’s RBI double in the ninth but stranded him at second for his 31st save in 33 chances.

Frankie Francisco (2-1) pitched a hitless eighth for the victory, ending a six-game winning streak for the A’s. Texas had lost three straight and five of six.

The comeback win spiced up a four-game weekend series between the top two teams in the AL West. Texas led the division by a season-best 41/2 games last Friday, but Oakland surged ahead with its win in the opener.

Harden gave up two runs on five hits, striking out five and walking two. He’s now allowed two runs or less in four straight starts and five of his last six. The A’s should be especially pleased with this performance because it showed his arm is fine despite having thrown 119 and 125 pitches his last two outings.

Oakland knocked out Texas starter Sam Narron, who was making his big-league debut, after 2 2-3 innings. He gave up four earned runs on three homers, two of them by Eric Byrnes.

A tall, soft-throwing lefty, Narron got behind quickly when Byrnes hit the game’s fifth pitch into the right-field seats. Byrnes opened the third inning by pulling a homer into the left-field seats, giving him his third multihomer game of his career, all this season. Erubiel Durazo chased Narron with a two-run homer a few batters later.

Narron, a cousin of former Rangers manager Jerry Narron, became Texas’ 13th different starter this season. A 14th may be needed as Thursday night’s starter, R.A. Dickey, went on the disabled list to open a roster spot for Narron.

Joaquin Benoit may have helped his chance to become a starter again with 4 1-3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just two hits. He also probably won points with teammates by hitting Byrnes on the shoulder on the first pitch of his third at-bat.

Hank Blalock broke up Harden’s shutout bid with a two-out RBI single in the fifth. Another run scored on a wild pitch, then Alfonso Soriano grounded out to shortstop with a man on second.

Texas had runners on second and third with two out in the sixth, but Harden struck out Gerald Laird on a high, inside fastball clocked at 97 mph.

Notes: Oakland’s Marco Scutaro, who came in with the highest fielding percentage among big-league 2Bs, committed his third error of the season when he failed to squeeze a flip at second base on a force play in the first inning. … Roberta Zito, the mother of A’s pitcher Barry Zito and the recipient of a liver transplant in 1999, threw out the first pitch as part of an organ donor awareness promotion. … It also was a throwback jersey night, with teams wearing 1974 uniforms. Texas’ Alfonso Soriano, Michael Young, Hank Blalock and Gerald Laird, and Oakland’s Bobby Crosby and Eric Byrnes were the only starters to show off their stirrups.

AP-ES-07-30-04 2320EDT