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: Texas Loses Five of Seven on West Coast Swing

Right fielder Mitch Moreland fails to make the play Sunday on a drive by Daric Barton in Oakland, part of a 7-2 loss for the Rangers against the A’s.

After losing three out of four games at home to the Blue Jays last week – with poor starting pitching and sloppy defense being the main culprits in the losses – the Rangers lost three out of four games in Oakland over the weekend to the division rival Athletics, then dropped two of three against the last-place Mariners in Seattle.

Oakland right-hander Trevor Cahill shut out the Rangers for seven innings Friday while Kurt Suzuki, Conor Jackson and Josh Willingham each drove in a run to lead the A’s to a 3-1 win over Texas.

Rangers starter C.J. Wilson went seven innings in a losing cause, giving up just two earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts, but an unearned run came home as a result of an Ian Kinsler error in the seventh. As for Cahill, he lowered his season earned run average to 1.88 with seven scoreless innings of work, issuing four walks but benefitting from 10 ground ball outs as Texas left a total of 12 runners on base in the game.

On Saturday, the Rangers pounded Oakland starter Brett Anderson for seven runs on nine hits across the first five innings of an 11-2 drubbing of the Athletics. Texas took a first-inning lead when Adrian Beltre lined a double into left field to bring home Elvis Andrus, who had walked and gone to third base on a groundout and his eighth stolen base of the season.

Right-hander Colby Lewis started for the Rangers and gave up his league-leading ninth home run of the year in the second inning, a solo shot by Kurt Suzuki to tie the game at 1-1. After Michael Young clubbed a two-run homer in the third (his first long ball this season), the Athletics’ Josh Willingham added another solo home run against Lewis in the fourth, bringing Oakland to within 3-2.

But Texas teed off against Anderson with a four-run fifth inning, which included a three-run homer by Nelson Cruz and was capped off with a solo blast from Mike Napoli. In the eighth, Ian Kinsler hit a two-out RBI double before an error by A’s shortstop Cliff Pennington led to three unearned runs in the top of the ninth.

It was Oakland’s turn to pound the opposing starter on Sunday afternoon, as the Athletics hammered Rangers left-hander Matt Harrison for four earned runs in less than two innings on the way to a 7-2 win over Texas. After beginning the season with a 3-0 record and a 1.23 earned run average, Harrison has now lost three straight games and watched his ERA jump to 4.59 on the year.

Oakland outfielder Conor Jackson, the third batter of the game, worked the count full against Harrison before hitting a two-run double to give the Athletics a 2-0 lead. After moving to third on a fly ball, Jackson scored when Kurt Suzuki singled into left field to stake left-hander Gio Gonzalez to a three-run advantage.

Oakland scored another run off Harrison in the second inning and added two more in the third against reliever Dave Bush, with RBI hits from Coco Crisp, Hideki Matsui and Cliff Pennington. Young and Kinsler each contributed run-scoring hits in a losing effort for the Rangers.

Behind the strength of three solo home runs – including a game-winning shot by Matsui – the A’s wrapped up the series Monday with a 5-4 victory over Texas in 10 innings.

After Oakland scored a run in the bottom of the second, Michael Young hit a two-out, two-run double in the third inning to give Texas a 2-1 lead. Suzuki tied the score with a leadoff home run against Rangers starter Derek Holland in the fourth, but Texas loaded the bases in the fifth inning before Young and Adrian Beltre hit back-to-back RBI sacrifice flies to right field.

The Athletics scored one more run against Holland in the fifth inning, and Josh Willingham tied the game with a solo homer off Arthur Rhodes in the eighth.

With the score tied at 4-4, Texas loaded the bases in the top of the tenth on three walks issued by reliever Grant Balfour but failed to get a run across. The missed opportunity proved costly when Hideki Matsui homered on the first pitch he saw from left-hander Darren Oliver in the A’s half of the inning, giving Oakland a walk-off victory and a 3-1 win in the series.

The Rangers committed a total of six errors in the four games against the Athletics, moving them into a tie with Oakland for the worst team fielding percentage (.976) in the American League.

Texas then moved on to Seattle, where the club was greeted with a 4-3, come-from-behind loss at the hands of the Mariners in the series opener on Tuesday.

The Rangers took three separate leads in the game, only to see Seattle come back and tie it each time. After Texas scored in the top of the eighth to go ahead 3-2, the Mariners responded with two runs in their half of the inning to take their first lead of the game – and they made it hold up through a shutout ninth to secure the 4-3 win.

C.J. Wilson restored some order to the rotation Wednesday with a 12-strikeout, complete-game performance as the Rangers topped Seattle, 5-2, to end their three-game losing skid. Wilson allowed just one earned run on one walk and six hits over nine innings, recording multiple strikeouts in only the first and the fifth – when he struck out the side around a Chone Figgins single and stolen base.

Mitch Moreland and Chris Davis each homered for Texas, while Adrian Beltre and David Murphy also drove in runs in the win.

The lackluster road trip ended with a 3-1 loss the Mariners on Thursday, as former Ranger Justin Smoak went 3-for-4 with a home run and a double for Seattle.

Next up is a 10-game, 11-day homestand against New York, Oakland, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Outfielder Martin Signs with Texas

It was announced Wednesday that the Rangers and Cuban outfielder Leonys Martin have agreed to a five-year contract worth $15.5 million, and the 23-year-old left-handed batter will also receive a $5 million signing bonus.

Only Cincinnati left-hander Aroldis Chapman signed a larger contract as a Cuban defector when he agreed to a six-year deal with the Reds worth $30.25 in January 2010.

Martin took a physical for Texas several weeks ago, but the deal was held up as he and the club dealt with visa and State Department issues. He’ll continue to work out at the team’s spring training facility in Surprise, Ariz., before being assigned to one of the Rangers’ minor-league affiliates later this month.

In 82 games for Villa Clara in the Cuban League last season, Martin batted .326 with 10 home runs, 23 doubles and RBIs.

Right-hander Ramon Aguero was designated for assignment in order to make room for Martin on the 40-man roster. After being acquired on a waiver claim from the Pirates on Apr. 8, Aguero has 10 days for the Rangers to trade, release or send him outright to the minors.