Rangers Notes: Texas Wins Three of Five against Division Foes

Michael Young is congratulated by manager Ron Washington (right) after scoring the first of his two runs during Tuesday’s 7-2 win over the A’s.

On the heels of a disappointing series loss to the Yankees, the Rangers were looking to start a winning trend with a week’s worth of home games against the division rival Oakland A’s and L.A. Angels of Anaheim.

Though many of the details seemed to be in place for a Texas victory on Monday – the Rangers collected more hits, made fewer errors and turned more double plays than the Athletics – it was Oakland that worked eight walks and got the clutch hits with men on base en route to a 7-2 win.

Texas, which charged out of the gate with a sizzling 9-1 record to begin the season, has cooled off considerably in a month’s worth of games since then, and Monday’s defeat dropped the Rangers behind the A’s and into sole possession of third place in the American League West division.

Left-hander C.J. Wilson, whose previous start had yielded a 12-strikeout, complete-game masterpiece in Seattle, was in a more charitable mood on Monday as he allowed five walks and five earned runs across seven mediocre innings of work.

Wilson’s counterpart for Oakland, right-hander Trevor Cahill, continued his recent trend of quality starts with a one-run, seven-strikeout performance in which he allowed five hits and one walk over seven innings.

On Tuesday, right-hander Colby Lewis – who struck out a career-high 11 batters but got charged with the loss in his most recent start at Seattle – failed to record a single strikeout against Oakland but was able to pick up the victory as Texas topped the Athletics by a score of 7-2.

Lewis and Oakland starter Brett Anderson each cruised through the early innings before the first two Rangers reached in the bottom of the fourth. After David Murphy worked a four-pitch walk to load the bases against Anderson, Mike Napoli was also issued a free pass to force one run home while Craig Gentry singled into left to drive in another.

Lewis retired the side on nine pitches in the top of the fifth, then watched as Texas rallied for three insurance runs against Anderson and reliever David Purcey. The Rangers’ Michael Young doubled with one out, moved to third on an outfield fly and scored on Adrian Beltre’s first home run since Apr. 24.

Cliff Pennington put the Athletics on the board in the sixth inning with his third home run of the year, only to see Texas respond with two runs in the bottom of the frame. For the Rangers, Young went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and fell a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, and he and Beltre moved into a four-way tie atop the American League leaderboard with 28 runs batted in this season.

Texas jumped to a 7-0 lead Wednesday afternoon only to see it washed away – literally. The Rangers pounded Oakland pitching for seven runs in the third inning before a torrential rain caused play to be delayed for over two hours.

Although both teams had an off day Thursday, the umpiring crew decided to call the game and have it re-played in its entirety at a later date, meaning that none of the statistics from Wednesday’s contest – including Mitch Moreland’s first career grand slam – will count.

Following Thursday’s off day, the Rangers took advantage of a weekend home series against the division-leading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, winning two out of three and pulling to within one-half game of first place in the A.L. West.

After missing his last scheduled start due to a blister on his right index finger, Texas pitcher Alexi Ogando returned to the mound Friday and looked sharp in six-plus innings of work, giving up one run and five hits in the Rangers’ 4-1 win over the Angels.

Ogando was given an early lead to work with when shortstop Elvis Andrus homered off Los Angeles starter Jered Weaver in the bottom of the first. Andrus’s counterpart for the Angels, Erick Aybar, tied the game with a solo home run of his own in the top of the third inning.

From there, however, Ogando was on a roll, retiring 11 of the last 15 batters he faced while lowering his season earned run average to 2.06.

Texas went on to score three more runs off Weaver, one apiece in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Andrus and Michael Young had run-scoring hits before third baseman Adrian Beltre clubbed his ninth home run of the year with one out in the sixth.

Relievers Cody Eppley and Darren Oliver both contributed scoreless outings for the Rangers in relief of Ogando, and closer Neftali Feliz tossed a shutout ninth inning to earn his seventh save of the year.

On Saturday, both starting pitchers turned in quality performances before the Los Angeles bullpen outlasted that of Texas in a 3-2 comeback victory in Arlington.

Left-hander Derek Holland went six innings in his start for the Rangers, who gave him an early lead when Mitch Moreland led off the second with a double and was driven home by third baseman Adrian Beltre.

But Holland wasn’t able to hold the lead for long, as he issued consecutive walks to the first two batters in the fourth inning before giving up an RBI double to Alberto Callaspo. A walk to Howard Kendrick in the fifth was followed by another run-scoring double by Callaspo, giving the Angels a 2-1 lead.

Los Angeles right-hander Dan Haren settled down after allowing the early run, at one point retiring 15 of 16 batters over the middle innings and finishing with five strikeouts against no walks. He was replaced with two outs in the eighth, but was denied a chance for a victory when Michael Young hit a game-tying RBI single against reliever Fernando Rodney.

The game wasn’t tied for long, however, as Texas left-hander Darren Oliver surrendered the go-ahead run on a two-out single to Maicer Izturis in the top of the ninth. Angels left-hander Scott Downs picked up the win in relief, and closer Jordan Walden tossed a scoreless frame to earn his seventh save of the year.

Rangers starter C.J. Wilson allowed a first-inning run on Sunday afternoon, then settled down to watch his teammates score three times in the third and once in the fourth to give him a 4-1 lead. And while Wilson wasn’t able to hold the three-run advantage, Texas rallied to break the tie and score the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, wrapping up a 5-4 win and securing a victory in the three-game weekend series against the Angels.

Wilson walked the very first batter of the game – center fielder Peter Bourjos – before giving up a double to Erick Aybar and a run-scoring groundout to Torii Hunter.

Facing Los Angeles starter Ervin Santana, Rangers infielders Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler both singled in the bottom of the third inning and came around to score on Beltre’s three-run homer. After Wilson got through a shutdown top of the fourth, Chris Davis added a solo home run in the bottom of the frame.

The Angels got back on the board in the fifth inning on a solo homer by Aybar, who then tied the game with a two-out, two-run single off reliever Brett Tomko in the top of the sixth.

Santana was pulled after seven innings pitched, and Texas immediately went to work against the Los Angeles bullpen.

The first two batters to face Rich Thompson in the bottom of the eighth drew walks, and Mike Napoli loaded the bases with a bloop single into right. Hisanori Takahashi was brought in to replace Thompson, but he was greeted by Chris Davis’s RBI single to right field that gave the Rangers a 5-4 lead.

For Texas, Mark Lowe earned the win in relief while right-hander Neftali Feliz retired all three batters he faced in the ninth to pick up his eighth save of the season.

The Rangers will now begin a three-city, seven-game road trip that will take them into the interleague play portion of the schedule. First up is a two-game set against the White Sox in Chicago, with RHP Colby Lewis (3-4, 4.57 ERA) and LHP Matt Harrison (3-4, 4.35) scheduled to get the starts for Texas.

Borbon Becomes Latest Outfielder to Land on DL

Rangers outfielder Julio Borbon was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday with inflammation in his left hamstring, and veteran Endy Chavez was called up from Triple-A Round Rock to replace him on the active roster. In order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Chavez, Texas transferred right-handed pitcher Brandon Webb from the 15-day to the 60-day DL.

Borbon was removed from Friday night’s game against the Angels after making a catch of Hank Conger’s fly ball in the top of the seventh inning. He originally reported a strained left hamstring, but an MRI exam on Saturday morning revealed inflammation.

In 32 games for Texas this season, Borbon hit .270 with three triples, six stolen bases and 11 runs batted in. Before going 0-for-3 Friday, he was batting .387 (12-for-31) over a recent 10-game hitting streak.

The 33-year-old Chavez was batting .305 (39-for-128) in 30 games for Round Rock this season, and his start for the Rangers on Saturday marked Chavez’s first big-league action since June 2009.

Rangers Notes: Cactus League Wrap-Up

Mitch Moreland, who batted .403 this spring with 15 RBIs, hits one of his team-leading nine doubles on Mar. 11 against the Reds.

The Rangers wrapped up their 2011 Cactus League schedule on Monday with a 6-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Scottsdale, finishing the spring with a record of 13-16-1.

First baseman Mitch Moreland hit .403 with four home runs, nine doubles and 15 runs batted in while catcher Yorvit Torrealba led the club with a .414 spring batting average.

Infielders Chris Davis and Ian Kinsler each clubbed five home runs, Michael Young batted a solid .380 with four doubles and two triples, and outfielder Julio Borbon hit .339 with five stolen bases in six attempts.

Following a pair of exhibitions in Myrtle Beach and Round Rock, the Rangers made a handful of moves Thursday to finalize the active roster ahead of Friday’s season opener against Boston.

Texas purchased the contract of right-hander Dave Bush, who was a non-roster invitee in spring training but will open the season in the Texas bullpen, from Triple-A Round Rock.

Another veteran right-hander, Brett Tomko, was reassigned to Triple-A while three more players – Davis, outfielder Craig Gentry and catcher Taylor Teagarden – were optioned to Round Rock as well.

In addition, the Rangers placed four right-handed pitchers on the 15-day disabled list – Omar Beltre, Scott Feldman, Tommy Hunter and Brandon Webb.

Ogando to Start for Hunter

It was announced Wednesday that right-hander Alexi Ogando will start in place of Hunter next Monday against Seattle, likely matching up with Mariners left-hander Erik Bedard in the game.

Ogando, who had been stretched out early in spring training but was told last week that he would remain in the bullpen, became one of the leading candidates for the open rotation spot when it was revealed that Hunter would miss at least six weeks with a right groin strain.

Last year, Ogando went 4-1 across 44 relief appearances and posted an ERA of 1.30 during the regular season, then struck out eight batters with a 1.50 ERA in five playoff and World Series games.

Texas Signs Infielder Cruz

Infielder Luis Cruz, who had been outrighted off Milwaukee’s 40-man roster earlier this week, was signed by the Rangers to a minor-league deal Wednesday and assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.

Cruz, 27, has a career batting average of .221 in limited action with the Pirates and Brewers over the last three seasons.

Rangers Notes: Cactus League Update No. 4

Chris Davis watches the flight of his game-winning home run against the Cleveland Indians on Mar. 3, one of four long balls he has hit this spring.

Although the Rangers were rained out Monday and enjoyed their only scheduled off day of the spring on Tuesday, there was probably little rest or relaxation to be had at the club’s spring training complex in Arizona.

With just over a week to go until the season opener against the Red Sox, Texas has yet to finalize the back end of its starting rotation or decide the immediate future of right-hander Neftali Feliz, who saved 40 games as a rookie last year but has been stretched out as a starter this spring.

Feliz has looked sharp in his four Cactus League appearances so far (including three starts), compiling an ERA of 1.93 while holding opposing hitters to a .222 batting average.

One reason for so much indecision about Feliz has been the ineffectiveness of the Rangers’ potential in-house candidates for closer, particularly right-handers Mark Lowe and Darren O’Day, who have combined for a 12.21 ERA in 13 exhibition games this spring.

Another option could be right-hander Alexi Ogando, who posted an earned run average of 1.30 across 44 relief appearances last season and has expressed a willingness to step into the closer’s role if he’s asked to.

Elsewhere, infielder Chris Davis has continued to make a strong push for a spot on the Opening Day roster, batting .462 (6-for-13) over his last five games with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs.

And according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, the Rangers are still “making calls” about possibly trading infielder/designated hitter Michael Young, though they are “asking for top-end prospects” in return and have found no takers thus far.

Hurley, Scheppers to Start Season at Triple-A

Right-handed pitching prospects Eric Hurley and Tanner Scheppers, both former first-round draft picks by Texas, were two of the nine players sent to minor league camp over the past week.

It was announced on Saturday that four players – Hurley, infielder Brian Barden, outfielder Chad Tracy and right-hander Ryan Tucker – had been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, while catcher Jose Felix and first baseman Jose Ruiz were each sent to Double-A Frisco.

In addition, right-handed pitchers Cody Eppley and Seth McClung were reassigned to the Rangers’ minor league camp on Saturday.

Scheppers, who made just two appearances this spring before being shut down with a strained lower back, was sent to Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, and he is expected to join Hurley in the starting rotation for the Express this season.

Webb Continues Slow Recovery

Former Cy Young award winner Brandon Webb, signed in the offseason to bolster the big-league rotation, continues to work his way back from shoulder surgery and plans to throw live batting practice on Wednesday.

If that goes well, the next step will be for Webb to pitch in a minor league game, though he is still expected to miss at least the first month of the season.

(UPDATE: Webb was scratched from Wednesday’s throwing session because he couldn’t get his shoulder loose, and he now plans to see team doctor Keith Meister for an evaluation.)

Rangers Notes: Cactus League Update No. 1

Second baseman Ian Kinsler, who has hit three home runs in nine at-bats this spring, makes a throw to first base Wednesday against the Angels.

The first few games of spring training tend to provide some good signs, some setbacks and a slew of somewhat obscure minor-league names, and the Rangers’ first week of Cactus League exhibitions is shaping up to be no different. After falling to Kansas City in the opener on Sunday, Texas won four games and lost two this week, including a pair of split-squad wins Thursday.

Right-handers Tommy Hunter and Colby Lewis each went two shutout innings in their Cactus League debuts while left-handers Matt Harrison and Derek Holland both allowed one run in their two innings of work.

And in what was probably the most highly-anticipated spring training start in years, right-hander Neftali Feliz threw two scoreless innings against Cleveland on Thursday, though he did hit a batter and gave up two hits and a walk while recording no strikeouts.

While getting re-acclimated with his role as leadoff hitter, second baseman Ian Kinsler is batting .556 across four games with three home runs and six RBIs.

Among the team’s other regular position players, Julio Borbon, Mitch Moreland, Mike Napoli and Michael Young are each hitting .500 or better.

As for Young, he saw his first game action at first base on Wednesday and made two successful putouts in four innings against the Angels. With he, Moreland and Napoli all (presumably) able to play first, ESPN Dallas takes a look at what could become a platoon situation at the position.

Torrealba Sits with Stiff Back

Catcher Yorvit Torrealba was scratched from Tuesday’s contest against the Mariners with a stiff back and has yet to return to action.

The 32-year-old Torrealba had planned to catch Feliz’s start against the Indians on Thursday, but he was held out of the lineup again and it’s unclear when he will get into his next exhibition game.

(UPDATE: Torrealba was supposed to play in Friday’s game against Oakland, but Taylor Teagarden was penciled into the starting lineup instead.)

Beltre, Webb Making Slow Progress

Two of the Rangers’ more significant offseason free-agent signees – third baseman Adrian Beltre and right-hander Brandon Webb – remain sidelined with a right calf strain and shoulder injury, respectively.

Beltre has taken batting practice and thrown but is not yet able to field ground balls at third, and he is expected to miss more than the 10-14 days originally outlined by the team.

Webb, meanwhile, is back to throwing off a mound after being limited to flat ground and long toss for the last 10 days. The former N.L. Cy Young award winner is working his way back from shoulder surgery and will probably miss the beginning of the season.

Rangers Notes: Young in Camp and in Uniform

After asking to be traded earlier this month, Michael Young reported to the Rangers' spring training complex in Surprise, Ariz., on Saturday.

Less than two weeks after his request to be traded became public, infielder Michael Young arrived at the Rangers’ spring training site in Arizona on Saturday and spoke briefly to the media, though he declined to discuss whether or not he still wanted a trade.

“I’m excited to be here,” he said. “After all this stuff is done, there’s a season to be played. … Now that we’re here at spring training, one thing I’ll never do is disrupt my teammates’ preparation for the season. I think the more said about this issue could potentially do that and that’s not the kind of teammate I am.”

Young, 34, said that while he had talked to both manager Ron Washington and club president Nolan Ryan since the trade talks surfaced, he hadn’t spoken to general manager Jon Daniels and didn’t plan to.

“I’m not going to comment on anything trade related,” he said. “The unfortunate thing about this is that there’s probably a handful of people that know all the details here. The rest of those details aren’t going to come from me.”

On Sunday, Young began working with infielders coach Dave Anderson on some of the footwork and finer points of playing first base, and he’s expected to log time this spring at first, second, and third base.

Young had moved positions at the team’s request twice before (2004 and 2009), and he was supplanted once again this offseason when the club signed free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre to a six-year deal worth $96 million.

Tomko Signs Minor-League Deal with Texas

According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, the Rangers and right-handed pitcher Brett Tomko agreed to terms Saturday on a minor-league contract, though the deal does not include an invitation to big-league spring training camp.

The 37-year-old Tomko is a veteran of 13 seasons in the majors with nine different teams, most recently splitting the 2009 season between the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics. He has a winning percentage of just under .500 (100-102) with a 4.65 earned run average across 389 career appearances.

Tomko did not pitch in the big leagues last season, spending the entire year in the Oakland system while rehabilitating a nerve injury in his right arm.

Webb Falls Behind Schedule

As for another pitcher making his way back from arm troubles, right-hander Brandon Webb missed his scheduled bullpen session on Sunday and it’s not clear when he will take the mound again.

Pitching coach Mike Maddux said the team doesn’t want Webb to throw off a mound until he has regained full strength in his right arm, limiting him to long toss sessions in the interim. Maddux also acknowledged the possibility that Webb could miss the start of the season.

A three-time All-Star and former N.L. Cy Young award winner with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Webb has thrown just four innings over the last two years and underwent shoulder surgery in August 2009.