The Texas Rangers defeated the Oakland Athletics Friday night 5-1 behind another outstanding start by Cliff Lee. That extends the Rangers lead in the AL West to 9 1/2 games. The race in that division looks like it is over with eight weeks to go in the season. Since late June, the Angels and Athletics played the Rangers 13 times, and Texas won eight of those games. The two western rivals had a chance to gain on the division leaders, but Texas not only maintained their big lead, they extended it. If either Oakland or LAnaheim showed the ability to gain on the Rangers, there would still be hope. Texas can sit back, rest their players during the oppressive August heat, and prepare themselves to face an AL East foe.