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. . 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. [url=http://www.theeaglesshoponline.com/Youth-Trent-Cole-Eagles-Jersey/]Trent Cole Eagles Jersey . -- Kyle Wiltjer had his first career double-double, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds in Kentuckys 88-50 win Saturday over Lipscomb. NBA Jerseys Black Friday 2014 . Matt Watsons goal in the 51st minute was the difference as the Whitecaps edged the University of Victoria Vikes 2-1 in exhibition play Sunday. http... . The award is presented to the player "who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season." Alfredsson, the NHLs longest-serving active captain, leads the Senators in games played, goals, assists and points. 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The Bobcats have interviewed Golden State assistant coach Michael Malone and Bobcats assistant Stephen Silas, son of former Charlotte coach Paul Silas, the people told the AP. The Bobcats are also interested in Indiana assistant Brian Shaw, Cleveland assistant Nate Tibbetts and St. Johns assistant Mike Dunlap. Its expected the Bobcats will talk to several other candidates before making a decision. Charlotte finished last season 7-59, the worst winning percentage in NBA history (.106). Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins and general manager Rich Cho are leading the coaching search and have been on the West coast this week where they interviewed Malone. Malone interviewed for the Warriors head coaching position last year but lost out to Mark Jackson. Despite not getting the job, he was hired as an assistant coach on Jacksons staff and is one of the highest paid assistants in the NBA at $750,000 per year. His father, Brendan, has worked as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors. Higgins said after the season the Bobcats planned to undergo an exhaustive search that would include interviewing "quite a few" candidates for the job. Ewing is the most recognizable name so far. A college star Georgetown, Ewing played for the New York Knicks from 1985 through 2000. Hes worked extensively in developing Magic centre Dwight Howard into an All-Star. "Its been mystifying to me that assistants that dont have near the experience that Patrick has have been getting jobs," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said Wednesday. Mike Williams Bills Jersey. "Hes ready. And I hope this off-season will be his time." Hell face plenty of competition. Among the other Bobcats candidates, Stephen Silas worked alongside his father and even stepped in as head coach for a handful of Bobcats games last season. Shaw worked seven seasons an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers and also spent time in Cleveland. He interviewed for the Lakers job but management went with Mike Brown. Most of Tibbetts coaching experience is in the NBA Developmental League. He worked as the head coach of the Tulsa 66ers before going to the Cavaliers. Dunlap has been with St. Johns since 2010 and filled in as head coach last season while Steve Lavin recovered from cancer surgery. Previously he was an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets in 2006-08 and also has experience coaching in college at Southern California, Arizona and Oregon. Its possible the coaching search could stretch into June with some bigger profile candidates waiting to see if the Bobcats land the No. 1 pick in the May 30 NBA lottery. The Bobcats know the job may not be an easy sell after coming off a rough season. But Cho said previously he wants to hire a candidate that is excited about the challenge that lies ahead, not someone who looks at the job as an uphill battle. "Those are the type of coaches we dont want to bring in," Cho said. "I want somebody that will relish the opportunity and look at it as a challenge. Its really easy to go to a winning team and take that opportunity. But I want somebody in here thats going to look at this as a great opportunity and a challenge and a chance to build something from the ground up." ' ' '