Texas left-hander Martin Perez had to get a little crafty to keep things from getting out of hand in his first start of the year. It was a lot easier than dodging a bull -- something Perez wasn't so successful doing in the offseason, which led to the 27-year-old getting a late jump in spring training. Perez allowed 10 hits but pitched into the sixth inning and Texas held on to beat the Oakland Athletics 6-3 before another sparse crowd on Thursday. read more http://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=380405111