Derek Holland began the second half strong with his second consecutive complete-game shutout, part of a 5-0 win Thursday in Seattle.
The Rangers extended their season-best win streak to 11 games over the weekend with a four-game sweep over the Mariners at Safeco Field.
Left-hander Derek Holland – who failed to get out of the first inning in a start against Florida earlier this month – bounced back with his second consecutive complete-game shutout on Thursday, part of the Rangers’ 5-0 win over Seattle.
Holland carried a perfect game into the bottom of the sixth before walking Franklin Gutierrez and allowing a single to Chone Figgins, and he faced just six batters over the minimum on the evening.
Outfielder Josh Hamilton provided Texas with an early lead when he hit a solo homer off Mariners starter Jason Vargas in the top of the first. Nelson Cruz followed with his 21st home run of the season in the second inning, and Michael Young stretched the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single in the third.
Mike Napoli then connected for a leadoff homer against Vargas in the top of the fifth inning, and Craig Gentry produced the game’s final run when he singled, stole second base, and came in to score on an RBI single from Elvis Andrus.
Meanwhile, Holland scattered five hits over the last four frames and walked only one batter while recording a total of eight strikeouts, becoming the first Texas pitcher to throw back-to-back shutouts since knuckleballer Charlie Hough did so in 1983.
The Rangers received another scoreless outing from their starter on Friday as Colby Lewis tossed eight-plus shutout frames before Neftali Feliz recorded the final out in the ninth.
Adrian Beltre, Endy Chavez and Josh Hamilton each contributed a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the 4-0 Texas win while Michael Young connected for an RBI single in the top of the eighth.
As for Lewis, he allowed just two hits over his first eight frames of work and finished with a total of eight strikeouts, helping to extend the scoreless-innings streak of the Texas pitching staff to 29 dating back to July 9.
Ian Kinsler helped push the Rangers’ win streak to 10 games with a pair of solo home runs Saturday, and Texas received seven quality innings from left-hander C.J. Wilson en route to a 5-1 victory in Seattle.
Kinsler gave the Rangers an early advantage when he homered leading off the ballgame against Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez, who then settled down to retire 15 of the next 16 batters he faced.
Wilson kept Seattle off the scoreboard until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Franklin Gutierrez reached on a leadoff single, moved to second on a stolen base, and scored on Ichiro Suzuki’s game-tying single into center field.
The Rangers took the lead back for good, however, on an Elvis Andrus RBI single in the top of the sixth, then added three insurance runs off Hernandez and reliever Jamey Wright in the eighth inning. With one out, Kinsler clubbed his second solo homer of the game to extend the Texas lead to 3-1, and both Andrus and Adrian Beltre singled and eventually came around to score in the frame.
Sunday afternoon saw the Rangers wrap up the four-game sweep with a 3-1 win over the Mariners, powered by a three-run homer from Mitch Moreland and seven-plus quality innings from left-hander Matt Harrison. The victory also helped Texas extend its overall winning streak to 11 games, tied for the second-longest in club history.
Seattle starter Blake Beavan – traded by the Rangers last summer as part of the deal for Cliff Lee – had to work around Dustin Ackley’s two-out error in the first inning, although he was able to strike out Nelson Cruz with the bases loaded to end the threat.
Beavan wasn’t as fortunate in the top of the second, however, as David Murphy singled and Mike Napoli walked against him before Moreland hammered a three-run home run to deep right field, giving Texas a 3-0 lead.
Harrison, on the other hand, took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and lasted into the top of the eighth, allowing just one run on five hits while seeing his ERA (2.91) drop into the top 10 in the American League.
Nate's Notes 
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