Rangers Notes: Gonzalez Spins Shutout in Second Start

Chi Chi Gonzalez (left) is greeted by catcher Robinson Chirinos after his 4-0 shutout Friday in Kansas City.

Making just his second major-league start, Texas right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez scattered three hits and tossed a complete-game shutout in the Rangers’ 4-0 win over the Royals last Friday at Kauffman Stadium.

Gonzalez, 23, very nearly made the team out of spring training before he was sent to Triple-A for more seasoning, and he has pitched well in each of his first three big-league appearances so far this year.

He required 116 pitches to get through his shutout against Kansas City, and Texas manager Jeff Banister admitted that the decision to send Gonzalez back out to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning was not an easy one.

“This is a young man that’s fresh in the big leagues,” Banister said. “I’m very conscious of where he is. I felt like there was not a lot of stress on any of the innings. I felt he was still in control, the velocity and pitch ability was still there.”

The complete-game shutout thrown by Gonzalez – which was the first by a Rangers rookie since Derek Holland in 2009 – helped Texas move into second place behind Houston in the American League West.

Backed by a seven-inning quality start from southpaw Wandy Rodriguez on Saturday, the Rangers took two out of three games from the Royals over the weekend before losing two of three this week in Oakland.

Nick Martinez gave up just one hit and did not allow a run across his six innings pitched Tuesday, and the Texas bullpen held off a late rally to preserve a 2-1 victory over Sonny Gray and the A’s.

On Wednesday, however, a 10-strikeout performance by Yovani Gallardo went for naught as the bullpen failed to hold a 4-2 lead, with three Texas relievers giving up one run apiece in a 5-4 loss to Oakland.

The Rangers’ relief corps was even worse in a lopsided 7-0 defeat Thursday afternoon, as the trio of Sam Freeman, Jon Edwards and Ross Detwiler combined to allow six earned runs on three hits and three walks in just one inning of work.

Despite losing their series at O.co Coliseum, the Rangers were provided with an opportunity to face Athletics reliever Pat Venditte, a switch-pitcher who logged three and one-third scoreless frames against Texas while throwing both left- and right-handed.

Tate Selected in First Round of Draft

With the No. 4 overall pick in Monday’s first-year player draft (their highest selection since 1986), the Rangers took right-handed pitcher Dillon Tate out of the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Texas chose the 21-year-old Tate after shortstops had been taken with each of the first three picks – Dansby Swanson (Diamondbacks), Alex Bregman (Astros) and Brendan Rodgers (Rockies).

Tate was converted from a closer into a starter last season at UCSB, posting an 8-5 record with 111 strikeouts across 14 starts while relying on an above-average fastball and a sharp breaking slider.

In the second round of the draft Monday night, Texas picked high school outfielder Eric Jenkins at No. 45 overall. Jenkins, who had committed to UNC-Wilmington, projects as a center fielder whose strongest tools are speed and hitting for contact.

Gonzalez, Russell to Join Rangers Hall of Fame

Two-time American League Most Valuable Player Juan Gonzalez and former All-Star reliever Jeff Russell were announced this week as the newest members of the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame.

Gonzalez hit 372 home runs and racked up 1,180 RBIs — both franchise records — during his time in a Rangers uniform (1989-99, 2002-03), winning A.L. MVP awards in both ’96 and ’98 while anchoring the Texas lineup during the club’s first three playoff appearances.

Russell (1985-92, ’95-96) began his Texas career as a starter before he was moved to the bullpen full-time in 1989. He remains the team’s all-time leader with 406 relief appearances and ranks second behind John Wetteland with 134 saves.

The pair will be honored as the 18th and 19th members of the Rangers’ Hall of Fame in a pre-game ceremony July 11 at Globe Life Park.

Texas Activates Blanks, Options Patton

First baseman/outfielder Kyle Blanks was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday while right-hander Spencer Patton was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock in a corresponding roster move.

The Rangers also released left-handed pitcher Mike Kickham – who had been claimed on waivers from Seattle last month – from the Round Rock roster.

Rangers Notes: Late-Inning Losses Hurt Club’s Playoff Hopes

Joakim Soria gave up a walk-off grand slam to the Royals’ Justin Maxwell Sunday afternoon.

For the second year in a row, the Rangers on Sunday saw Oakland complete a September comeback and win the American League West division.

Now, Texas has its postseason hopes riding on one of two potential A.L. Wild Card berths, although the ballclub currently sits in third place behind Tampa Bay and Cleveland in that race.

Having lost all six games on their most recent homestand, the Rangers extended their losing streak to seven with a 6-2 defeat last Monday at Tropicana Field.

Rookie of the Year candidate Wil Myers drove in three runs for the Rays while Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb struck out 10 batters across eight innings.

Ian Kinsler gave Texas an early lead Tuesday when he homered on the very first pitch from  Jeremy Hellickson, and both Kinsler and Elvis Andrus finished with three RBIs as the Rangers beat the Rays, 7-1, to end their losing skid.

Wednesday proved to be the first of two heartbreakers on the road trip for Texas, which took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth before Jurickson Profar failed to turn what should have been an inning-ending double play, and Sean Rodriguez followed with a two-run home run to tie the game.

Adrian Beltre put the Rangers back in front with an RBI single in the top of the eleventh, but Tampa Bay tied it again on a single from David DeJesus, then won the game, 4-3, when Desmond Jennings delivered a walk-off hit in the twelfth.

Texas clubbed four long balls on Thursday to salvage a four-game split with the Rays, cruising to an 8-2 victory behind right-hander Yu Darvish — who walked six batters while struggling with his command — and a trio of relievers.

In Friday’s series opener at Kauffman Stadium, both the Rangers and Royals plated an early run to forge a 1-1 tie heading into the eighth inning, when Neftali Feliz issued a bases-loaded walk that forced in Lorenzo Cain and gave Kansas City a 2-1 win.

On Saturday, Texas finally got the kind of top-tier performance it had been expecting from starter Matt Garza, as he pitched into the ninth and allowed just one run while the Rangers held on to beat the Royals by a 3-1 final.

Seemingly unable to maintain any sort of momentum, the team endured another blow to its playoff chances Sunday with a gut-wrenching 4-0 loss in Kansas City. The Rangers and Royals each missed on RBI opportunities over the first nine innings and entered the tenth in a scoreless tie.

Kansas City loaded the bases before Texas could record an out, and although Joakim Soria was one strike away from escaping the jam, his payoff pitch to Justin Maxwell was hit beyond the left-field wall for a game-winning grand slam.

Recent Performance Leaves Washington ‘Concerned’

With the ballclub emerged in an extended funk through much of September, Rangers manager Ron Washington has received some criticism from fans and media members alike, and last week he acknowledged feelings of concern regarding his long-term job security.

“I’m concerned about my job,” Washington said Tuesday on a local radio station. “If that decision is made, it’s out of my hands. I hope I’ve gained credibility for what we’ve accomplished the past few years.

“I’m not a finger-pointer. We’ve all got to take blame … I don’t really think about that type of stuff. I know at some point in this game of baseball, we all may have to look for another job.”

Washington led Texas to the franchise’s first two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011, but the team squandered a late-season division lead last year before losing in the Wild Card game, and the Rangers are now at serious risk of missing the playoffs altogether.

Rangers Notes: Prospect Profar Makes Immediate Impact

Jurickson Profar crosses the plate after homering in his first career at-bat Sunday versus the Indians.

Nineteen-year-old infielder Jurickson Profar was called up when active rosters expanded on Sept. 1, and the following day became the youngest Texas player to hit a home run when he connected for a solo shot off Cleveland’s Zach McAllister in his first big-league at-bat.

Profar started at second base and went 2-for-4 in his major-league debut, later adding a double and helping the Rangers to an 8-3 victory in the rubber game of their series with the Indians at Progressive Field.

“I guess it’s a pretty big thing,” Profar said following the game, in which he passed Ivan Rodriguez (19 years, 276 days) as the youngest Ranger to hit a home run (19 years, 195 days). “I was a little bit nervous, but I’m with a lot of great players, so I just went out and played.”

Adrian Beltre had continued his hot hitting on Friday with two doubles and two singles against Cleveland, paving the way for a 5-3 Texas victory, before the Indians evened the series with four first-inning runs off Scott Feldman as part of their 4-3 win Saturday.

The Rangers then moved to Kansas City for a four-game set at Kauffman Stadium, where Geovany Soto clubbed an early three-run homer on Labor Day while Yu Darvish worked seven quality frames as Texas doubled up the Royals by an 8-4 final.

Recent trade acquisition Jeremy Guthrie won his fourth straight decision for Kansas City on Tuesday, 6-3, but the Rangers came back with one-run victories both Wednesday and Thursday to secure another series win.

Wednesday saw Adrian Beltre hit a three-run home run in the first inning before Ryan Dempster and the Texas bullpen combined to hold off a late charge and beat the Royals, 7-6, and Michael Young drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth on Thursday to wrap up a 4-3 Rangers victory.

The next stop for Texas was St. Petersburg, Florida, where the Rangers went into extra innings for the second day in a row Friday only to watch the Rays’ Ben Zobrist deliver a two-run walk-off homer against reliever Mark Lowe in the eleventh.

Saturday evening featured a third consecutive extra-inning affair for Texas, as Jurickson Profar made his second career start and singled off Kyle Farnsworth in the top of the tenth to drive in the eventual game-winning run, later scoring himself as the Rangers held on for a 4-2 victory.

Thoughts of a series win versus Tampa Bay were put to rest quickly Sunday, however, when B.J. Upton went deep on the first pitch thrown by Texas spot starter Roy Oswalt, then added two more home runs to lead James Shields and the Rays to a 6-0 shutout.

Ross to DL; Perez, Scheppers among Call-Ups

Along with Jurickson Profar, the Rangers added five other players when active rosters expanded from 25 to 40 at the beginning of September, though they also lost a key bullpen piece as southpaw Robbie Ross was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left forearm strain.

Whereas Profar had his contract purchased from Double-A Frisco, the other five roster additions have seen big-league service time this year and were recalled from Triple-A Round Rock: left-hander Martin Perez, right-handers Tanner Scheppers and Yoshinori Tateyama, infielder Brandon Snyder and outfielder Leonys Martin.

In addition, Texas placed left-hander Miguel De Los Santos on release waivers Friday in order to make room for Profar on the 40-man roster. De Los Santos had gone 3-2 with a 5.22 ERA in 26 games for the RoughRiders this season.

(UPDATE: The 24-year-old De Los Santos has been claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers, it was reported Sunday.)

Rangers Notes: Texas Wraps up Third Straight Series Win

Yu Darvish earned his 12th victory of the season Sunday with six and two-thirds quality innings of work against the Tigers at Rangers Ballpark.

After struggling to a 9-14 record in the month of July, the Rangers have won eight of 11 games in August while taking three consecutive series versus Kansas City, Boston and Detroit.

Southpaw Matt Harrison improved his season record to 13-6 by tossing six-plus quality innings two Fridays ago as Texas held on for a 5-3 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, with Mitch Moreland providing late insurance via a three-run home run in the top of the seventh.

On Saturday, right-hander Scott Feldman — who had lost each of his first six decisions of the year through mid-June — picked up his sixth straight win in a 4-2 Rangers victory behind two RBIs apiece from Josh Hamilton and Mike Olt.

Kansas City denied the Rangers a chance at the series sweep with a 7-6 walk-off win over Texas in last Sunday’s finale, as the Royals took advantage of errors by Alberto Gonzalez and Mike Olt to score in the bottom of the tenth inning.

Monday’s opener at Fenway Park was one to forget for Rangers starter Yu Darvish, who allowed a club-record seven doubles in a 9-2 loss to the Red Sox, but Ryan Dempster helped end the team’s brief two-game skid by picking up his first American League victory Tuesday in Texas’s 6-3 win.

Wednesday afternoon’s rubber match saw Boston come back from a four-run deficit to tie the game at 9-9 in the seventh inning — highlighted by Will Middlebrooks’s three-run homer off Alexi Ogando — before Adrian Beltre put the Rangers ahead for good with a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth.

Texas returned to Arlington and began a weekend series against the Tigers on Friday, although Scott Feldman could not escape a sixth-inning jam that was capped off by Prince Fielder’s 20^th home run of the year, part of a 6-2 win for Detroit.

Rookie Mike Olt was the hero Saturday with a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the ninth that gave the Rangers a 2-1 walk-off victory, and Yu Darvish pitched into the seventh on Sunday while Josh Hamilton drove in three runs to lead Texas to an 8-3 series-clinching win.

Napoli Sidelined; Lowe Returns from DL

Catcher Mike Napoli was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday due to a strained left quadriceps muscle, with backstop Luis Martinez getting recalled from Triple-A to fill Napoli’s active roster spot.

Napoli had felt tightness in his left quad earlier in the week and sat out both Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games against the Red Sox in Boston, but he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his return to the lineup Friday.

“It’s something that’s been [an issue] all the time,” manager Ron Washington told MLB.com. “We were hoping three days and treatment would help, but it didn’t.”

Also on Friday, Texas activated right-hander Mark Lowe from the disabled list while designating infielder Alberto Gonzalez for assignment. Lowe had been on the DL since late June with a strained muscle in his right rib cage.

(UPDATE: Gonzalez cleared waivers on Sunday and has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock.)

Oswalt Adjusting to Bullpen Role

The acquisition of right-handed starter Ryan Dempster has forced an unplanned role change for another veteran righty in Roy Oswalt, who has made three relief outings and no starts since last month’s trade deadline.

Oswalt, 34, was signed in late May to provide depth and experience to the Rangers’ starting rotation, and he went 3-2 with a 6.49 ERA across six starts with Texas, although he allowed 17 combined earned runs in a pair of particularly ugly losses to the White Sox and Angels in July.

“I’m a starter. I’m not really a bullpen guy,” Oswalt said on Saturday. “It wasn’t my decision. I’m down there to throw when they need me, I guess.”

In his three appearances out of the bullpen this month, Oswalt has notched a relief victory while throwing a total of five and one-third innings, recording nine strikeouts against one walk and one home run.

Rangers Notes: Walk-Offs Send Texas into Midseason Break

The Rangers mob second baseman Ian Kinsler following his 13th-inning single Sunday to give Texas a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Texas snapped its season-high five-game losing streak with back-to-back walk-off victories against Minnesota over the weekend, as Nelson Cruz delivered a run-scoring double in the 10^th inning Saturday before Ian Kinsler hit a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 13^th on Sunday to end the season’s ceremonial first half.

Last week the Rangers were swept in a three-game series for the first time since June 2011 when they dropped three straight to the White Sox, beginning with an ugly 19-2 rout on Tuesday at U.S. Cellular Field.

Chicago’s Kevin Youkilis, Adam Dunn and Alex Rios each pounded homers in the first inning off Texas starter Roy Oswalt, who was removed in the fifth after giving up 11 runs (nine earned) on 13 hits, eight of which went for extra bases.

Youkilis provided more fireworks on Independence Day with a walk-off single against Mike Adams, and he homered yet again Thursday to lead the White Sox to a 2-1 victory over the Rangers.

Back in Arlington on Friday, the Texas lineup continued its funk in a 5-1 loss to Minnesota and starter Francisco Liriano, who issued six walks but avoided serious damage as the Rangers went just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Left-hander Derek Holland made his return from the disabled list Saturday and was backed by solo home runs from Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre. With the score tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the 10^th, Beltre singled and scored the game-winning run when Nelson Cruz’s line drive got beyond the reach of Twins left fielder Josh Willingham.

Sunday saw Texas rebound from a 3-0 ninth-inning deficit to tie the game and again force extra frames in a 3-3 deadlock. Michael Young led off the 13^th inning with an opposite-field double, sparking a rally that culminated in Ian Kinsler’s walk-off single into the left-center field gap.

Grimm Sent to Frisco as Rotation Rehabs

With starter Derek Holland being activated from the 15-day disabled list before Saturday’s game against Minnesota, right-hander Justin Grimm was optioned to Double-A Frisco while Scott Feldman was returned to his long relief role out of the bullpen.

Grimm, 23, had posted a 1-1 record across two starts and one relief appearance since being promoted last month, winning his big-league debut against Houston on June 16 but getting roughed up in his next outing versus the Tigers.

As for Feldman, he earned the victory out of the bullpen in Sunday’s comeback win over Minnesota, and the right-hander will likely stay there as Opening Day starter Colby Lewis is expected to return from the DL after this week’s All-Star break.

N.L. Captures Third Straight All-Star Game

The National League jumped out of the gate with five first-inning runs off American League starter Justin Verlander in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, then scored three more times against Rangers southpaw Matt Harrison in the fourth en route to an 8-0 shutout at Kauffman Stadium.

Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera was named Most Valuable Player after going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and two RBIs, both of which came on his two-out, two-run homer off Harrison in the top of the fourth.

Texas closer Joe Nathan had retired each of the three batters he faced in a perfect second inning, and Mike Napoli’s fifth-inning single was one of just six A.L. hits as he and the other Rangers position players — Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler — combined to go 1-for-9 at the plate.