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OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Rangers impressive stretch of scoreless innings by the pitching staff ended with an emphatic thud Sunday.More importantly, manager Jeff Banisters ballclub missed a chance to hang onto its lead in the race for home-field advantage in the playoffs.Not that theres much concern in Texas clubhouse.With their final six games at Globe Life Park -- where they own the second-best home record in the AL -- the Rangers are still confident heading into the final stretch of the regular season.Its crucial, Banister said after Oakland rookie Jharel Cotton pitched seven crisp innings to beat Rangers 7-1. We need to go home and play clean baseball. We were able to get some guys rest, get some guys off their legs today, so they should be fresh going into tomorrow.The Rangers, who clinched the AL West on Friday, fell into a tie with the Boston Red Sox for home-field advantage in the playoffs. Texas (92-64) holds a slight tiebreaking advantage based on division record and will close out the regular season with a pair of three-game series against Milwaukee and Tampa Bay.Things might not have been so tight had the Rangers been able to do anything against Cotton.Adrian Beltre drove in the only run for Texas with his team-leading 32nd home run in the seventh. It was the 445th career home run for Beltre. The 37-year-old also singled to move past home run king Barry Bonds on the career hits list with 2,937.Beyond that, the Rangers had just two singles and a double.Thats the first time weve seen (Cotton), Banister said. Hes got a special changeup . something we had not seen. When hes got that working for him it does present a challenge when its the first time these guys have seen him.Ryon Healy had three hits, including a two-run homer, and Stephen Vogt drove in three runs to help the As win after being shut out in back-to-back games.Oakland will be sitting out the postseason and had lost the first five games on this homestand, but ended it on an encouraging note behind Cotton (2-0). The rookie right-hander allowed one run, struck out five and faced two over the minimum while quieting the Rangers potent offense.Cotton became the first As pitcher since at least 1913 to start his career with four consecutive starts of five innings or longer while allowing one earned run or less.I feel like it was a Sunday game and they wanted to get away, Cotton said of the Rangers hitters. I was on the mound like, `Thank you. Just keep swinging. That was good for me.Sean Doolittle and Ryan Dull pitched one inning apiece to complete the five-hitter.The As did all of their scoring in the second to chase starter Colby Lewis (6-4).Bruce Maxwell blooped an RBI single just past the outstretched glove of shortstop Hanser Alberto. Marcus Semien scored on a groundout and Vogt lined a three-run double to right before Healys 12th home run, a towering shot that put Oakland up 7-0.That ended a streak of 23 consecutive scoreless innings by Texas pitchers.LEWIS BEATEN BUT ENCOURAGEDLewis, who had won four consecutive games at the Coliseum, lasted just 1 1/3 innings and allowed a season-high seven runs and seven hits. The right-hander has lost four consecutive decisions, three since a two-month stint on the disabled list.I felt great, the best Ive felt in a long time, Lewis said. Thats the way it goes. I feel like I made a lot of good pitches. They just were able to drop balls in where our defenders werent. Thats about it.TRAINERS ROOMAthletics: Sonny Gray will come off the disabled list to make his first start in nearly two months against the Angels on Wednesday. Gray has not pitched in a game since Aug. 6 because of a forearm strain.UP NEXTRangers: LHP Martin Perez (10-10) faces the Brewers on Monday when Texas begins its final homestand of the regular season. Perez owns a 2.65 ERA at home, tied for the lowest in the AL among qualifying pitchers.Athletics: Sean Manaea (6-9) starts against the Angels in Anaheim on Monday. The left-handed rookie has not allowed a run in 11 consecutive innings since missing more than two weeks with a sore back.---This story corrects the spelling to Banister throughout. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. 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Match FactsSaturday, August 27, Lords Start time 10.30am (0930GMT)The Big PictureThe rain that swept in for the closing stages of Wednesdays first ODI provided an anticlimactic finale for a packed ensemble at the Ageas Bowl, but not even the weather could disguise another formidable show of all-round strength from an England one-day team that is starting to look like something really rather special.Unbeaten in ODIs this summer, ever since Liam Plunketts six at Trent Bridge swiped a tie in their opening game against Sri Lanka in June, England have showcased the sort of depth and balance that would be the envy of a Russian synchronised swimming team.At no stage in Pakistans somewhat old-school grind to 260 for 6 did they ever look like setting a total that would trouble an extraordinarily confident England line-up, and if Jason Roys dizzy spell was an alarming moment in an otherwise serene chase, then his brief disorientation was nothing compared to the spin that his power-packed innings had already inflicted on his opponents.England, therefore, are surely ripe for a fall. Nothing guarantees an English comeuppance more readily than the suggestion that they have finally cracked one format or another (the prosecution calls for its first witness: the fourth Test at The Oval). And if any team is capable of penetrating Englands wall of allrounders in their batting ranks, it is Pakistan with players such as Wahab Riaz or the surely-to-be-recalled Yasir Shah, whose individual bursts of brilliance can transcend mere circumstance.But even on the bowling front, the evidence from the opening ODI is that England have the edge. Mark Woods stunning speed on his return to action provided a point of difference that Wahab, for one, couldnt emulate this time out, while Joe Roots cheeky allsorts offspin - and the early wicket of Mohammad Hafeez - epitomised the confidence coursing through Englands one-day ranks. And theres variety in their depth as well. In Adil Rashid, they possess one of the most reliable legspinners in modern one-day cricket - his new-found control, allied to an always deceptive googly, makes him extraordinarily hard to dominate.However, domination is what Pakistan may require to get back on level terms in this series. Their batting in the first match was undermined by a very untimely rain delay after 42 overs that swiped the momentum from a promising stand between Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, and arguably cost them 20-30 runs in the final reckoning. But even a total in the region of 300 might not have been sufficient to deter Englands advances.That said, theres no knowing how unsettled Englands players will be following last nights security briefing ahead of their forthcoming tour of Bangladesh. The tour is set to go ahead, but one or two players will surely be harbouring a few doubts about travelling in spite of the ECBs efforts to allay their fears. Theyll need to push all such thoughts to the backs of their minds if they want to continue their upward surge.Form guide(completed matches, most recent first)England WWWWT Pakistan LWLLLIn the spotlightIf Alex Hales is enduring something of an ebb in form and fortune, then his opening partner, Jason Roy, is positively flowing at present. He put his funny turn at the Ageas Bowl down to a lack of sugar, but he could not have timed the ball any sweeter in rampaging to 65 from 56 balls, and a summers tally of 381 runs from 320 balls, at an average of 95.25 and a strike rate of six runs every five balls. In between whiles he has clocked up his first first-class century of the summer, for Surrey against Middlesex on this very ground three weeks ago, to drop a subtle hint that his talents and technique need not be confined to white-ball cricket forever.Mohammad Amirs summer has been one of intermittent highs and lengthy periods of frustration. On Wednesday he watched yet another chance go down off his bowling - Sarfraz spilling a top-edge from Roy to add to the seven drops that Amir endured during the Tests.dddddddddddd It cannot help that his every move has been scrutinised all summer long, and theres little question that he is struggling for form in a way that he rarely experienced during his comet-like first coming as a teenager. But now, with the circus moving back to the scene of his mis-steps in 2010, he has another opportunity to charge in and let rip. If he was palpably nervous on his first return to Lords during the Test match, then maybe, with the emotion of that day behind him, hell emerge from the pavilion feeling rather more liberated by the occasion.Team newsDavid Willey remains out of contention with his hand injury, but Chris Jordan would be raring to go after a successful recent spell for Sussex although Woods impressive comeback makes changes seem unlikely. Ben Stokes will play as a batsman once again as he continues his injury comeback, while Roots successful spell at the Ageas Bowl means that Liam Dawson is surely superfluous as a third spinning option. If he isnt selected, Jonny Bairstow is likely to be released for Yorkshires Royal London semi-final against Surrey on Sunday.England (probable) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Mark WoodYasir Shah was overlooked for the first match in favour of the greater control that Imad Wasims left-arm tweakers were able to impose, particular in the Powerplays. But Pakistan surely wont be making that same mistake again. They need wickets by the bucketload if they want to keep Englands batsmen under wraps, and Yasir has a presence that cannot be under-estimated - especially after his heroics in last months Test win. Mohammad Amir will have to come through a fitness test after leaving the field in Southampton with a side problem.Pakistan (possible) 1 Sharjeel Khan, 2 Azhar Ali (capt), 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz/Imad Wasim, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Mohammad AmirPitch and conditionsThere is a bit of grass at present on another typically true Lords pitch, which may tempt England to contemplate an extra seamer in place of Moeen Ali, whose bowling has been a bit subdued in recent weeks. But then again, the baking hot weather in London at present will surely persuade them otherwise. Another high-scoring contest seems on the cards.Stats and triviaEngland have recently lost that winning feeling in Test cricket at Lords, but its nothing new where their one-day fortunes are concerned. Theyve been beaten in their last three ODIs at HQ, with their most recent win coming against South Africa in 2012. Pakistan also won their most recent ODI at Lords, beating England by 38 runs in an emotionally charged contest soon after the 2010 spot-fixing saga, perhaps best remembered from an altercation in the nets between Wahab and Jonathan Trott.Jos Buttler, who did not bat on Wednesday, still needs 22 runs for 2000 in ODIs - he has the highest strike-rate of the year (126.51) of any batsman with more than 200 runsQuotesIts tricky for us at the moment, weve got a game tomorrow and international cricket needs your full focus to perform well. Its down to us to try and put those things to one side, the decision has been made by the board and now we get on with the job in hand.Jos Buttler recognises the need to put the Bangladesh security situation to one side ahead of tomorrows match.Were going to build a team we think can compete in a year or twos time. The invitation is there to every player: step up or well find somebody else who can step up, its as simple as that.Mickey Arthur lays down the challenge to his players ' ' '