ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Eric Sogard's blooper to left field looked as if it might get Oakland even against Texas until shortstop Elvis Andrus ran it down and made a sliding catch over his shoulder.

When Adam Rosales and Coco Crisp also made outs with the tying run at second base, the Athletics lost their best chance to spoil the first major league start by Ross Wolf, one of their former relievers.

Wolf pitched five strong innings in his first appearance since he was with Oakland in 2010, David Murphy and Adrian Beltre homered in a three-run first inning, and the Rangers avoided a sweep with a 3-1 victory against the A's on Wednesday.