ARLINGTON, Texas -- With the way Bartolo Colon was dominating on the mound, all the Oakland Athletics needed was the early run they scored off Yu Darvish. Ivan Rakitic Jersey . Now they just about have a stranglehold on the AL West after beating the Texas Rangers twice in less than 24 hours. Colon scattered seven hits over eight scoreless innings and the division-leading As won 1-0 Saturday, stretching their division lead over Texas to 5 1/2 games with two weeks left in the regular season. "I dont think its much difference because last year we wanted to win every game, and right now we feel like we want to win every game still," said Josh Donaldson, who drew a walk in the first and scored the games only run. "If anything, it might be a little bit different for them. ... Now theyre looking up at us and trying to catch us." Oakland overcame a five-game deficit against the Rangers in the final nine games last year, including a season-ending three-game sweep at home to clinch the division. Texas has 15 games left -- but only one against the As in Sundays series finale. The As won for the seventh time in eight games and have already clinched the key division series. They built a 9-2 lead in Friday nights opener and held on to win 9-8 after Texas had a six-run eighth. "Its big for us to be able to pull these victories off," As centre fielder Coco Crisp said. "One was weird, the other one today was just a pitchers duel." Colon (16-6) struck out seven and lowered what is already his career-best ERA to 2.73. The 40-year-old right-hander became the first to reach 20 victories against Texas, his most wins in his career against any team and the most by any pitcher against Texas -- breaking what had been a tie with Bert Blyleven, Dennis Leonard and Jack Morris. "Bartolo was just absolutely phenomenal today and didnt really give them that much of a chance," Donaldson said. Darvish (12-9) struck out 10 over seven innings in his fourth 1-0 loss of the season. The right-hander from Japan has lost his last four starts, the last two by 1-0 scores, and is winless his last six. Texas scored two runs or less for Darvish his last seven starts. That includes his 2-1 win at Houston on Aug. 12 when he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. "I cant control it. I cant do anything about it. The only thing I can do is concentrate on the batter in front of me," Darvish said through an interpreter, insisting that he is not frustrated. "As a pitcher, you cant control how many runs are scored. Am I going to go into the lineup and help the lineup? I cant." Darvish struck out the side in the first, but Donaldson walked and scored on a two-out double by Brandon Moss into the right-field corner. Second baseman Ian Kinslers relay throw to the plate was a bit up the line. Colon walked one before Grant Balfour worked the ninth for his 38th save in 40 chances. Texas has lost all five games on this homestand, and is 2-10 in September. "It put us in second place. Thats about it," manager Ron Washington said. "Weve still got games left to play. Were going to continue to play." Other than the As last season, only two other teams have overcome deficits of five games or more with 15 or fewer games left since 1969, according to STATS. In 2007, Philadelphia had a 5 1/2-game deficit against the New York Mets with 15 games left, the same the Rangers face now. The St. Louis Cardinals were 5 1/2 games behind Houston with 11 games remaining in 2001. Darvish had his majors-best 12th game of at least 10 strikeouts this season, and the 20th in his 58 career games. He also surpassed 250 strikeouts, becoming only the fourth pitcher to accomplish that within his first two MLB seasons. The others were Tim Lincecum, Dwight Gooden and Herb Score. NOTES: The 12:06 p.m. start was the earliest ever at Rangers Ballpark, which is in its 20th season. And it came after a 4-hour, 9-minute game Friday night that matched the fourth-longest nine-inning game in park history. That game ended at 11:16 p.m. ... The last MLB pitcher with four 1-0 losses in the same season was Orel Hershiser in 1989. ... Balfour had allowed seven runs over his previous seven games, but converted five of six saves in that span. Wholesale Barcelona Jerseys .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Rafinha Jersey .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes hope to remain perfect at home in January on Friday night as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to PNC Arena. http://www.cheapbarcelonajerseys.com/?tag=jasper-cillessen-jersey . Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. Serge Ibaka returned to the Thunder lineup from a calf injury that was supposed to sideline him for the remainder of the postseason and the results were sparkling.SOCHI, Russia – Even before the Olympic tournament began, before the under-looked and under-appreciated Fins would stun the entire nation of Russia, Olli Jokinen prescribed the formula that would get it done. “I think we have the best goaltending out of all the other countries,” Jokinen said. “We play a good team game. Plus, we feel that at the end of the day it doesnt matter who puts the Finnish jersey on the team is going to play the same game anyways. For us its not so much about the names on the back, its about the good, solid team game and good goaltending.” That was what it took to bring down Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and the home country at Bolshoy Ice Dome on Wednesday night: spectacular goaltending from Tuukka Rask, a few timely goals and continued adherence to a team game, despite injury losses that seemed too burdensome to overcome. Ever the underdog, Finland has altered the face of these Games in Russia and reminded the hockey world, yet again, why only one country has medaled in three of the four Olympics involving NHL players. “You know that nobody ever believed that we could win, but it doesnt matter,” said captain Teemu Selanne, who had a goal and an assist in the 3-1 upset over Russia. “The experts are wrong many times. We have to believe in our team.” There was no Ovechkin on this team, no Malkin, not even the injured and more recognizable likes of Mikko and Saku Koivu, Valtteri Filppula, or even Aleksander Barkov, the second overall pick in last summers NHL draft. For star power, it came down to Rask, who was terrific with 37 saves, and Selanne, playing in his final Olympics at age 43. “Weve got good team spirit and our style to play,” said Leo Komarov, who played in the NHL with the Maple Leafs last season. The Finns, who won bronze in 1998 and 2010 and silver in 2006, were a determined and youthful bunch on this night, led, however, by the aging Selanne, the unsolvable Rask and 21-year-old Mikael Granlund, who set up Selannes go-ahead goal and eventual game-winner before scoring the third and final marker himself. &ldqquo;I think this is a great business card for Granlund to show how good he can be,” Selanne said of Granlund, who has 28 points in his second season with the Minnesota Wild. Cheap Barcelona Jerseys China. In upsetting the Russians and holding Ovechkin and Malkin off the score-board entirely – the pair combined for two goals all tournament – Finland gets an opportunity to play in Fridays semi-final against Sweden with another medal chance close at hand. Mindful of a rest advantage – Russia was playing for the fourth time in five days – Selanne believes a turning point for his country came in their final preliminary round match against Canada during which they lost 2-1 in overtime, hanging around despite an overwhelming talent disparity. “My young teammates, when they realized that they can compete against the best players in the world it felt great,” said Selanne, who played in his first Olympics in 1992. “I dont know how many people saw that, [but] I saw it very [closely]. I was very proud of those guys. I think thats the carryover from that game. Its a good feeling when you realize that you can compete against the best.” Yet again it was a sum of parts defeating what was ultimately an incredibly talented and yet flawed Russian squad, one that buckled under the strain of a countrys worth of pressure. They fell in the quarterfinals for the second straight Olympics. “It sucks,” said Ovechkin, who had just a single goal all tournament, held to three shots by Finland and singled out by his head coach afterward. Rask was there all night to turn aside whatever Ovechkin and the Russians could muster. The 26-year-old got stronger as the game wore on, stopping all 27 shots in the final 40 minutes, including one on Alexander Radulov in the waning moments of victory. “Tuukka?” said Komarov with a grin. “Hes okay.” And ultimately it was Rask, who summed up the under-looked and under-appreciated Finns. “Even though nobody ever picks us to win medals,” he said, “we always seem to find a way to get there and win one.” Cheap Cowboys Jerseys Cheap Giants Jerseys Cheap Eagles Jerseys Cheap Redskins Jerseys Cheap Falcons Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Saints Jerseys Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap 49ers Jerseys Cheap Seahawks Jerseys Cheap Rams Jerseys Cheap Bears Jerseys Cheap Lions Jerseys Cheap Packers Jerseys Cheap Vikings Jerseys ' ' '