Hamilton, Beltre Lead Rangers Past A's
ARLINGTON (AP) – Matt Harrison pitched six-hit ball into the eighth inning, Adrian Beltre homered in his third consecutive game and the Texas Rangers extended their winning streak to a season-best seven games with a 2-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
Harrison (7-7) struck out seven and walked one in 7 2-3 innings, and Neftali Feliz completed the shutout by working a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 22 chances.
After Josh Hamilton drew a two-out walk in the sixth, Beltre lifted a 1-0 pitch from Trevor Cahill (8-7) into the seats in left-center for Beltre's 19th of the season.
Beltre and Hamilton are two of five Rangers on the AL All-Star team.
AL West-leading Texas opened the season with six consecutive wins, then topped that streak with a four-game sweep of Oakland.
A game played in 98-degree heat wrapped up an emotional weekend for both teams following the death Thursday of a fan who reached for a ball tossed into the stands by Hamilton. Brownwood firefighter Shannon Stone tumbled over a rail, falling about 20 feet to the concrete below. He died less than an hour later.
Cahill nearly matched Harrison before faltering in the sixth. Cahill gave up two runs and five hits in 7 2-3 innings with three strikeouts and two walks.
Cahill entered the game with an 8-2 record and 2.18 ERA in 11 career starts against Texas.
Oakland was shut out for the 11th time this season and is 5-13 in its last 18 games after a six-game winning streak.
The A's fell to 16-32 on the road and a season-worst 14 games under .500 (39-53).
The Rangers have outscored opponents 53-22 during the seven straight victories that moved them a season-high 10 games over .500 (51-41).
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
