Colby Lewis struck out seven batters across nine scoreless innings in his win over the White Sox.
After beginning the season with a 1-3 record and an earned run average of 6.95, Texas right-hander Colby Lewis has bounced back to produce four quality starts in a row and see his ERA drop to 3.81, and his most recent outing may have been one of the best performances of his life.
Lewis threw the first complete-game shutout of his MLB career on Monday to lead the Rangers to a 4-0 win over the White Sox in Chicago. The Sox managed just five hits off Lewis, who finished with seven strikeouts against one walk and needed just 110 pitches to get the job done.
While Lewis was shutting down Chicago’s lineup, his Texas teammates got to White Sox starter Edwin Jackson for two runs in the top of the third. Outfielder Endy Chavez led off the inning with a single and went to second on a stolen base, then scored the game’s first run when Michael Young doubled into left-center. Two pitches later, Young came home on Adrian Beltre’s RBI single into left field to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.
Texas went on to score twice more in the top of the sixth against Jackson, who yielded a total of four runs on 11 hits over five-plus innings of work, issuing three walks and committing his first fielding error of the season.
On Tuesday, left-hander Matt Harrison was given an early lead by the Rangers when they scored individual runs in three of the first four innings against Chicago southpaw John Danks, with RBI hits coming from Ian Kinsler, Endy Chavez and Yorvit Torrealba.
After Torrealba’s run-scoring sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth put Texas in front by a score of 3-0, Harrison worked an efficient shutdown inning by retiring Alexei Ramirez, Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko in order. But the bottom of the fifth was a different story, as he issued walks to Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios before surrendering a game-tying home run to 24-year-old Brent Morel, his first long ball of the season.
Rangers right-hander Cody Eppley came on to replace Harrison in the bottom of the eighth, but he promptly issued a walk to the leadoff batter – Gordon Beckham – on just four pitches.
Dallas McPherson’s one-out single advanced Beckham to third base, and he scored the go-ahead run when Eppley uncorked a wild pitch beyond the reach of Torrealba. Sergio Santos tossed a perfect ninth inning to secure the 4-3 comeback win for Chicago and pick up his sixth save of the season.
After earning a two-game split against the White Sox, Texas moved on to Kansas City and did the same thing against the Royals on Wednesday and Thursday at Kauffman Stadium.
Despite going just 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position and stranding a total of 13 men on base Wednesday night, the Rangers were able to hang on for a 5-4 win in extra innings.
Starting pitcher Alexi Ogando gave up two runs on four hits across seven innings of work for Texas, though Kansas City did most of its damage against him during the first trip through the lineup.
After getting through a quick bottom of the first and retiring the first two batters in the second, Ogando allowed a single and a walk before Chris Getz and Alcides Escobar had back-to-back RBI hits to give the Royals a 2-0 lead. Beginning with the final out of the second inning, however, Ogando retired 14 batters in a row before Wilson Betemit’s one-out single in the seventh.
Making his major-league debut for Kansas City, left-hander Danny Duffy worked out of jams in each of the first two innings before allowing one run apiece in the third and fourth.
Veteran Endy Chavez scored the Rangers’ first run on a third-inning fielder’s choice, and Craig Gentry came home on a wild pitch in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. From there, both bullpens put zeroes on the board until the ninth, when each team scored one run to send the game into extra innings.
Leading off the top of the 11th, Chavez drew a base on balls against Royals reliever Jeremy Jeffress, who also walked Ian Kinsler and Chris Davis to load the bases with one out for Adrian Beltre. On the second pitch he saw from Jeffress, Beltre lined a single into center field to drive in Chavez and Kinsler with the go-ahead runs.
Kansas City was able to score once against Rangers right-hander Mark Lowe in the bottom of the 11th, but he recovered to get the final out and earn his first save of the year, while left-hander Arthur Rhodes picked up the win in relief for Texas.
On Thursday, the Royals again scored a ninth-inning run against Rangers closer Neftali Feliz to tie the game and send it into extra frames; but unlike the previous night, they were able to end their five-game losing streak with a 2-1 comeback win in 10 innings.
Chris Davis put the Rangers in front early with a home run against right-hander Luke Hochevar to lead off the second inning, and the 1-0 lead held up until the bottom of the ninth.
Texas starter Derek Holland turned in his best performance of the year, yielding nine scattered singles over eight-plus innings while recording five strikeouts against just one walk. He received his fifth straight no-decision, however, as he was pulled after giving up a leadoff single to Kansas City rookie Eric Hosmer in the bottom of the ninth.
Feliz, who blew his first save of the season Wednesday before the Rangers rallied to win, came on in relief of Holland and immediately allowed a single to Jeff Francoeur. Following two fly ball outs, Mike Aviles ended an 11-pitch at-bat with a single up the middle to score Hosmer with the tying run.
Royals right-hander Greg Holland retired the side in order in the top of the 10th, which set the stage for a Kansas City comeback in the bottom of the inning.
With one out and left-hander Darren Oliver on the mound for Texas, Melky Cabrera and Eric Hosmer connected for back-to-back singles to put runners at first and third for Jeff Francoeur. Oliver was replaced by sidearmer Cody Eppley, who got two quick strikes before Francoeur delivered the game-winning hit against his former team.
Next up for the Rangers is their first interleague matchup of the year, a three-game weekend series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and the scheduled starters for Texas are LHP C.J. Wilson (4-2, 3.38 ERA), RHP Colby Lewis (4-4, 3.81) and LHP Matt Harrison (3-4, 4.27).
Cruz, Hamilton Shift Rehab to Triple-A
Injured outfielders Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton, both of whom returned to game action at Double-A Frisco this week, will continue their rehabilitation assignments with the Triple-A Round Rock Express starting on Friday.
Cruz has been on the disabled list since May 7 (retroactive to May 4) with a strained right quadriceps muscle, and he went 2-for-11 in three games at Frisco with a double and a run batted in. Across 30 games for the Rangers this season, Cruz is batting .219 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs.
As for Hamilton, he has been sidelined since Apr. 12 with a non-displaced hairline fracture in his right shoulder, an injury that was sustained when he attempted a headfirst slide into home plate against the Tigers in Detroit. The defending American League MVP, Hamilton hit a home run in his first rehab game for Frisco and ended up going 2-for-7 with three runs batted in.
Cruz is expected to play the outfield in Round Rock’s three games against Colorado Springs this weekend while Hamilton will get his starts as the designated hitter.
Texas Recalls Teagarden from Round Rock
With temperatures heating up and injuries beginning to take their toll, the Rangers on Wednesday optioned right-hander Ryan Tucker to Round Rock and recalled backup catcher Taylor Teagarden to provide depth on the active roster.
This marks Teagarden’s second stint with the big-league club already in 2011, as he went hitless over four at-bats between Apr. 20 and May 5. In his first game back with Triple-A after being sent down earlier this month, Teagarden hammered three home runs while producing half (seven) of his season RBI total (14) on May 8 against Nashville.
Tucker, who had been called up by the Rangers on Apr. 27, allowed four earned runs in five innings pitched across five appearances with Texas, though he had not seen any action since getting rocked for two runs on two walks and two hits – without retiring a single batter – against Oakland on May 9.
Nate's Notes 
You must be logged in to post a comment.