Zito’s Bid for No-Hitter Ends in Eighth Inning

Barry Zito took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, and Jay Payton hit a two-run homer on his first swing for the surging Oakland Athletics in a 7-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

After Rich Harden took a perfect game into the eighth inning of an 81-pitch two-hitter Thursday, Zito (7-8) was stellar until Kevin Mench homered with one out in the eighth.

Eric Chavez hit a three-run homer and Nick Swisher also connected to back eight innings of two-hit ball by Zito.

The A’s won their fifth in a row while charging back into the playoff race -- and for the second game in a row since the All-Star break, Oakland pounded Texas’ pitching to back a gem from its own staff.

Zito, who struggled with hard-luck losses early in his first season as Oakland’s ace after the departures of Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder, struck out five in winning his fourth start in a row.

Zito walked leadoff batter Gary Matthews Jr., but he was erased on Michael Young’s double play grounder. With all his pitches working splendidly, including his nasty curveball, Zito faced the minimum 17 batters until Mark DeRosa’s two-out walk in the sixth.