"Rich Harden was brilliant for the Texas Rangers on Monday night in his return to the Oakland Coliseum. And less than 9,000 people can say they saw it in person.

A's manager Bob Geren didn't really see it coming, either.

In his first start in Oakland since being traded by the A's less than two years ago, Harden pitched seven scoreless innings and finished with nine strikeouts to lead the Rangers to a 4-2 win before an announced crowd of 8,874.

Harden struggled with his command through his first five starts of the season, issuing 23 walks in 23?2/3 innings. But he didn't walk anybody Monday, and his fastball that topped out at 96 mph was a season-high, according to Rangers manager Ron Washington.

"The scouting reports we had on him — the velocity, the changeup, everything — he actually exceeded any outing of the year by far," Geren said of Harden. "According to our guys, he pitched his best game. His velocity was up significantly from his previous starts."

Harden (2-1) had seven strikeouts in the first five innings and led off the sixth by fanning Josh Donaldson. Rajai Davis then doubled to left to break up the no-hitter, but Harden retired Cliff Pennington and Daric Barton to end the threat. His seven innings and strikeout total were season-highs.

"I haven't been myself lately," Harden said. "This is what I want to continue from here on out, this feeling.""