OAKLAND, Calif. -- Colby Lewis lost on no-hitter in the ninth inning on a leadoff double by Max Muncy but rebounded to pitch a complete game, delivering the Texas Rangers a 5-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday afternoon.

Ian Desmond broke a scoreless tie with a leadoff home run in the seventh, propelling the Rangers to a third win in four days against the A's and their franchise-record-tying eighth straight series win.

Lewis took a perfect game two outs into the eighth before issuing a four-pitch walk to Yonder Alonso.

The right-hander had faced three-ball counts just three previous times in the game.

Rangers left fielder Ryan Rua then provided the defensive play of the game, leaping at the foot of the warning track to deny Marcus Semien's bid for extra bases.

Lewis fell behind Muncy 2-1 leading off the ninth before the left-handed hitter hit a high drive toward the right-field wall.

Rangers right fielder Nomar Mazara got to the fence at the same time as the ball, which deflected off his glove as he was crashing into the padded wall.

The hit was ruled a double, the first of Muncy's career.

Two batters later, Lewis lost his shutout as well when Rua came up just short on another attempt at a spectacular catch, racing in on a Coco Crisp liner, diving and having the ball go in and out of his glove.

Crisp got a double on the play, scoring Muncy.

Lewis (6-0) retired the next A's to complete his two-hitter, throwing 109 pitches. He walked one and struck out four.

The effort came against an A's team that had hit a cumulative .342 with 31 runs in its last four games.

The Rangers finally gave their 36-year-old pitcher some offensive support in the seventh against A's rookie Daniel Mengden, who was making just his second major-league start.

Desmond hit Mengden's fourth pitch of the seventh over the right-field fence, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

The home run was Texas' 11th of the four-game series, one shy of the record for an A's opponent.

An error on Oakland first baseman Yonder Alonso opened the door for the Rangers to add a second run in the inning and end Mengden's afternoon.

Adrian Beltre's single sent Nomar Mazara to third, from where he scored on Prince Fielder's infield out.

Right-hander Ryan Dull replaced Mengden two batters later, with the bases loaded, and struck out Elvis Andrus and Bobby Wilson to keep the A’s with in 2-0.

The spotlight then went back on Lewis, who needed just six pitches to get through the bottom of the seventh unscathed.

The Rangers padded their advantage in the top of the eighth, with Beltre's two-run double against the third Oakland pitcher, Fernando Rodriguez, making it 4-0.

Mitch Moreland added an RBI single against left-hander Marc Rzepczynski to cap a three-run inning and increase the lead to 5-0.

Lewis then got the first two outs in the eighth before issuing the walk to Alonso.

The victory was the Rangers' 15th in their last 19 games and completed a 3-1 series win against the A's, who had won Monday's opener. Remarkably, the series win was Texas' eighth this season when losing the first game.

Beltre, returning from a week on the bench while resting a strained hamstring, had three of the Rangers' nine hits, including a double. Desmond, Odor and Moreland added two hits apiece.

Mengden (0-2) remained winless despite a second consecutive impressive effort. He allowed two runs (one earned) and just four hits. He walked one and struck out seven.

The A's fell to 3-10, worst in the majors, in June.

NOTES: Upon further review, Wednesday's power display by Rangers C Robinson Chirinos and 2B Rougned Odor marked the first time two Venezuelan-born players have ever hit two home runs apiece in the same Major League Baseball game. ... Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre (strained left hamstring) was back in the starting lineup after having missed seven consecutive games. ... Both teams remain undecided on a Saturday starter. Rangers manager Jeff Banister indicated before the game that his club likely will start either RHP Nick Martinez or LHP Cesar Ramos at St. Louis. Meanwhile, A's manager Bob Melvin mentioned RHP Zach Neal as his best major-league option for the middle game against the Los Angeles Angels. ... Melvin said he would consider RHP Henderson Alvarez (shoulder surgery) for Saturday but noted the club has chosen to be conservative and will keep him in his scheduled injury-rehab start at Triple-A Nashville.