(08-12) 00:18 PDT Toronto --

The A's are coming home off a better road trip than usual to face a first-place team amid some potential added tension - C.J. Wilson, tonight's starter for Texas, bashed Oakland and its fans.

On Thursday, Oakland defeated the Blue Jays 10-3 to win consecutive road series for the first time since the team's first road trip in April.

Conor Jackson drove in three runs, two on a triple in the third inning that provided the amusing sight of Josh Willingham, not a particularly fast runner, nearly catching up to Hideki Matsui and staying on his tail all the way to the plate.

"I knew he was right behind me because he was yelling, 'Run, Matsui, run!' " Matsui said, laughing, as Roger Kahlon interpreted.

Manager Bob Melvin added, "I didn't know if Hideki was going to pass the baton to him or if it was a race. I know Willingham got a chuckle out of it, and so did the rest of the dugout."

Willingham said, "He was jogging and I was catching up with him - I really wanted him to go. The ball was on the ground and I was 5 feet away from him."

Matsui, playing with a big knot on his lower left leg after being hit with a pitch the night before, had four hits, drove in two runs and scored two runs, and he's batting a big-league best .432 since the All-Star break.

Starting pitcher Guillermo Moscoso allowed three hits, two walks and two runs, one earned, in six innings for the victory.

The A's come home having won four of five to face Wilson, who told ESPN Dallas this week that A's fans "suck" because of their poor attendance, that he doesn't like pitching in Oakland and that A's players don't like him. He also said he wouldn't consider signing with Oakland when he becomes a free agent this winter.

Cue sarcastic sounds of disappointment from the A's.

"Why would anyone care what he thinks?" one Oakland player said Thursday, expressing the general feeling in the clubhouse.

Brandon McCarthy, Wilson's teammate in Texas, will start for the A's tonight.

"He's not really attacking the players, he's attacking the fans," McCarthy said. "I'm not sure why, but if he's got something on his chest, he got it off between that and the 'lawyerball' stuff.

"If he wants to make comments, obviously he's allowed to do that, and it's up to the other team to play well. The more you do that, the more you win the battle. Bickering back and forth doesn't do anything."

Another former Texas player, A's starter Rich Harden, said of Wilson's comments, "Not surprising."

Harden said he imagines that the Oakland fans will be able to voice their own thoughts about Wilson loud and clear tonight. "I think it will get them going," he said.

Harden chose to return to the A's as a free agent last winter, and unlike Wilson, he loves pitching at the Coliseum.

"I know we haven't been getting as many fans as everyone would like, but we have really good fans," said Harden, who starts Sunday. "That's something I've always appreciated. The fans we have are great. I'd like to see us put together a good season for them. Those comments by C.J. - that was kind of insulting to them."