Game Preview: Rangers At Athletics

(AP) - Jesse Hahn was just looking to secure any place in the rotation for the always pitching-rich Oakland Athletics after he was acquired in a four-player trade with San Diego in December.

But following an impressive spring with his new club, the right-hander was surprised to have earned the No. 2 spot.

As he looks to build on Sonny Gray's dazzling opener, Hahn will try to lead host Oakland to a second straight win Tuesday night against a Texas Rangers team hoping to wake its slumbering bats.

Hahn (7-4, 3.07 ERA in 2014) struggled in his first outing and his final start last season, but he went 7-2 with a 2.08 ERA while holding opponents to three runs or less in 10 consecutive starts in between.

"Last year, it gave me a lot of confidence and it was also real surreal everything that was happening at the time," he said. "I'm going to look to learn and improve and take my experience from last year and just keep getting better every day."

In just one of several moves they made in the offseason, the A's acquired the 25-year-old and R.J. Alvarez from the Padres in exchange for catcher Derek Norris and right-hander Seth Streich on Dec. 18.

With A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker recovering from Tommy John surgeries and Jon Lester, Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija departed in the offseason, the right-hander posted a 3.06 ERA over five outings during spring training to earn Tuesday's start.

"I would have been satisfied with (any place) but to get that No. 2 spot is awesome," Hahn said. "I'm glad they have the confidence in me. I'm going to go out there and do my job, put zeros on the board and give us a chance to win."

Hahn hopes to keep the Rangers' bats quiet after Gray took a no-hitter into the eighth inning Monday before Ryan Rua's leadoff single. The A's cruised to an 8-0 win that ended a MLB-record 10-game losing streak on opening day.

"Our guys stayed stubborn with our approach," said Texas manager Jeff Banister, who lost his debut. "We didn't try to get big with our swings. We did have some barreled balls, but credit to Sonny."

After they managed only three baserunners, the Rangers will try to provide more support for Colby Lewis (10-14, 5.18). The right-hander has gone 8-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 20 career starts against the A's.

He allowed one run while striking out seven over seven innings in a 2-1 home win Sept. 25.

Lewis looks to pick up a Texas pitching staff that is already reeling from the loss of ace Yu Darvish to season-ending elbow surgery and injuries to Martin Perez, Matt Harrison, Kyuji Fujikawa and Tanner Scheppers.

"I've got to go out there and do my thing and put up a bunch of innings and keep the team competitive," Lewis said.

Coco Crisp went 4 for 5 with two doubles in their 2014 matchups, but he's on the disabled list due to a right elbow injury. Fellow outfielder Josh Reddick is also starting the season on the disabled list with a right oblique strain.

Ben Zobrist, an offseason trade acquisition from Tampa Bay, and Stephen Vogt had both a home run and a double Monday. Zobrist is 3 for 6 with two doubles lifetime off Lewis, while newcomer Billy Butler has gone 3 for 9 with a homer.