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Rangers, Athletics battle for second place

Sep 23, 2008 - 1:35 PM Oakland (75-81) at Texas (75-82) 8:05 p.m. EDT

ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- With no playoffs to look forward to, the Oakland Athletics and the Texas Rangers are in a battle for second place in the American League West.

The A's will be looking to increase their advantage over the Rangers to 1 1/2 games when the teams' meet on Tuesday.

Oakland picked up a 4-3 win in 11 innings Monday when Travis Buck singled in the winning run in the series opener. The A's have won four in a row and seven of eight.

Texas has struggled of late, dropping five in a row and seven of nine.

Rookie Josh Outman (1-1, 4.61 ERA) will make his third career start for the A's on Tuesday. The 24-year-old lefthander was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies as part of the Joe Blanton trade in July and has made four appearances for Oakland since being recalled from the minors.

Outman has yet to last more than five innings in a start, allowing four runs and 10 hits in 9 1/3 total frames.

The Rangers will counter with their own converted reliever, Dustin Nippert (3-5, 6.47). The righthander is 2-3 with a 5.61 ERA in five starts since moving into the rotation on August 17.

He picked up a win against the A's on September 11, allowing one run and four hits while striking out seven in five innings.