Johnson and A's knock off Rangers

Sep 15, 2007, 23:28 GMT

Oakland, CA - Dan Johnson went 3-for-4, with two solo home runs and a two-run single, and the Oakland Athletics topped the Texas Rangers, 7-3, in the third of a four-game set.

Joe Blanton (14-9) pitched seven-plus strong innings, giving up five hits and three runs with six strikeouts and a walk. Nick Swisher also homered for the A's, who have won the first three games of this series, and five of six. Alan Embree got the last five outs for his 17th save of the season.

'I love playing defense behind him,' Oakland's Dan Johnson said of Blanton. 'He gets the ball goes after guys. He doesn't beat around the bush. He works fast, gets lots of outs. He's a competitor. You can't ask for anything more than that.'

Brandon McCarthy (5-10), coming off the disabled list, was on a pitch count, and left after allowing three hits and two runs in three innings. David Murphy finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for the Rangers, who have dropped five in a row.

'We ran into some pitching when we put runs on the board,' Rangers manager Ron Washington said. 'The other parts of the game fell apart.'

Jack Cust gave the A's the early lead with his RBI single in the first, scoring Shannon Stewart, who had worked a leadoff walk and moved to third on a walk to Daric Barton and Swisher's fly out to center.

Swisher belted his 22nd homer of the season, a shot to center with two outs in the third, giving Oakland a 2-0 lead. Johnson added another run with his solo homer to right with one out in the fourth.

The Rangers cut to within one run with two in the fifth. Jason Botts and Hank Blalock both singled to get things started, and Murphy singled in Botts. Jarrod Saltalamacchia then grounded into a double play, but Blalock came home, making it a 3-2 game.

Johnson's second home run, a blast to right to lead off the sixth, put the A's back up by two runs.

Oakland then put the game away with three runs in the seventh, all with two outs. Stewart grounded out and Barton struck out, but Bill White plunked Swisher to keep the inning going. Cust then singled to right, bringing Luis Mendoza out of the Texas bullpen. Mark Ellis greeted him with an RBI double to left, and Johnson followed with a two-run single to center, boosting Oakland to a five-run advantage.

Ian Kinsler's sacrifice fly plated Murphy in the eighth inning to account for the final score of the game.

Game Notes

Swisher has homered in three straight games...Cust finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for the A's...Five Rangers relievers combined to give up seven hits and five runs in five innings...Attendance was 24,517.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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