Wolf snares first win as Murphy mashes.

So the Rangers manage to pull off a last game win before the A's leave town. Oakland wins the series but Texas avoids the sweep and stays up 5.5 games.

The real hero of the afternoon was Ross Wolf, the spot starter making his first Major League start after being called up from Triple A. Wolf's road in professional baseball has been rocky at times and he may not be done with the down parts yet but he shined yesterday. Five solid innings with only one earned run. Much more than anyone could have expected from a converted reliever with no Major League starts.

David Murphy, shown here on card number 603 of the 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary set, made sure Wolf had some support by belting a two run home run in the bottom of the first inning. Adrian Beltre followed in the same inning with a solo shot to give the Rangers three runs.

Three runs was all the pitching staff needed thanks to an excellent two inning outing by veteran call-up Neal Cotts and flawless performances by Robbie Ross and Joe Nathan. That sealed the 3-1 victory.

Nice to see the team back in the win column again. Today's a day off as the team heads to Seattle. Hopefully the extra day of rest will let some of the bumps and bruises heal and allow the offense to find their bats again.