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May 3, 2010 - 2:01 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Texas (12-12) at Oakland (13-12), 10:05 p.m. EDT

While he showed flashes of brilliance during his time in Oakland, Rich Harden's tenure with the Athletics is likely remembered most for his many stints on the disabled list.

Harden faces his former team for the first time since his July 2008 trade as he tries to extend a string of impressive outings by Texas Rangers starters in the opener of a three-game series against the Athletics on Monday.

Harden began his career in the Bay Area with Oakland, going 21-12 with a 3.40 ERA in 53 appearances - 50 starts - in 2004 and 2005. After a promising start, the right-hander struggled with injuries the next two years, making only 13 starts from 2006-07 before he was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 2008.

He went 9-9 with a 4.09 ERA with the Cubs in 2009 before signing a free-agent deal with the Rangers over the winter.

In total, Harden has made seven trips to the DL since May 2005, mostly for shoulder problems.

While he got off to a slow start, Harden (1-1, 4.56 ERA) is coming off his first victory with his new team after giving up three runs and four hits in six innings of a 6-5 win over the White Sox on Wednesday.

He'll look to build on that victory Monday night at Oakland Coliseum, where he was 18-9 with a 2.98 ERA in 49 appearances.

"It's a nice pitcher's park, especially at night," Harden told the Rangers' official website. "I always liked pitching there. ... Anytime you play against an old organization you want to do well."

He takes the mound after Texas (13-12) completed a three-game road sweep at Seattle over the weekend, capped by a 3-1 victory in 11 innings Sunday.

David Murphy tied the game in the ninth with an RBI single, then hit another single in the 11th to score Julio Borbon. C.J. Wilson didn't earn the win, but gave up one run in seven innings.

Texas starters are 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA over their last six games.

"Our pitching staff's been our backbone all year," Murphy said.

While the Rangers have been playing better since their slow start because of their pitching, the Athletics (13-13) seem to be heading in the opposite direction because of theirs. Oakland has dropped five of six, including three of four at Toronto over the weekend.

Oakland closed the series with a 9-3 defeat on Sunday after starter Ben Sheets was tagged for nine runs in 3 1-3 innings.

The A's rotation is 1-5 with an 11.96 ERA in the last six games, during which only Gio Gonzalez, who won Saturday, made it past the fifth inning.

Dallas Braden (3-1, 4.20) will try to end that trend after he suffered his first loss last week.

Braden went into his last outing with a 2.77 ERA over his previous four starts - all Oakland wins - but he gave up six runs in four innings of a 10-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

The left-hander is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA against the Rangers. Oakland went 2-0 in his starts against them last season while he recorded one victory, allowing two runs over 11 innings while striking out 12.

The Athletics won six of 10 at home against the Rangers last year.