Rangers Notes: Road Trip Ends on Losing Skid

Elvis Andrus (right) turns one of Texas’ six double plays Friday, tying both an American League and club record.

After winning the opener of their three-game series against the Yankees, the Rangers fell short in the final two games to complete their first road trip of the season with a 4-5 record.

Thanks to yet another stellar pitching performance from left-hander Matt Harrison on Friday and some timely infield defense behind him, Texas snapped a two-game losing streak with a 5-3 win at Yankee Stadium. Harrison (3-0) allowed just one earned run over eight innings and benefitted from a club-record-tying six double plays – including two started by the pitcher himself.

Already ahead by a 2-0 score, the Rangers broke through for three runs in the top of the fifth inning on just one hit, taking advantage of two walks, a hit batter and three wild pitches thrown by the Yankees.

Right-hander Neftali Feliz gave up a run on two hits in bottom of the ninth before getting the final out to end the ballgame and earn his fifth save of the season.

On Saturday, left-hander Derek Holland allowed a pair of run-scoring hits to former Ranger Mark Teixeira early in the game, then settled down to hold the Yankees scoreless through the middle innings.

But Yankees starter Freddy Garcia, who was undefeated in his last five starts against Texas dating back to 2004, limited the Rangers to just two hits over six innings pitched before handing the game over to the bullpen to close out New York’s 5-2 win.

Making his third career start for Texas on Sunday, right-hander Alexi Ogando gave up five runs on six hits and a walk over 6 and 1/3 innings pitched, but the Rangers couldn’t keep up with New York in what became a battle of bullpens, falling by a score of 6-5.

Third baseman Adrian Beltre hit a two-run homer in the first inning – his fourth of the year – and added an RBI single and a run-scoring double later in the game.

With the score tied at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth, however, left-hander Arthur Rhodes allowed a walk and a base hit before giving up an RBI single to Yankees third baseman Eric Chavez that brought home the go-ahead run.

While the Rangers lost two of their three games this weekend, the L.A. Angels of Anaheim swept a three-game series against the White Sox to move into a first-place tie with Texas in the American League West. The division rivals will meet for the first time this season when the Angels visit Rangers Ballpark in Arlington for a three-game set beginning on Monday.

Young Eclipses Pudge on Franchise Doubles List

After publicly requesting to be traded this offseason, Michael Young appears to have settled into his new role as the team’s designated hitter and has seen his name keep rising up the record books in the process.

Young’s run-scoring double Friday was the 353^rd two-base hit of his Texas career, moving him past Ivan Rodriguez for first place on the club’s all-time leaderboard in that category.

“It’s very cool,” he told MLB.com. “They have had a lot of great offensive players in Texas and to have another record means a lot.”

Last June, Young passed Rodriguez as the franchise’s all-time hits leader with No. 1,748 of his career, a total he has since extended to 1,870. The six-time All-Star is already the Rangers’ career leader in at-bats (6,217) and triples (46), and he ranks second to Rafael Palmeiro with 926 runs scored and 1,523 games played in a Texas uniform.

Levine Awarded Contract Extension

Assistant general manager Thad Levine, a key part of the leadership group put together by GM Jon Daniels and club president Nolan Ryan, agreed to a contract extension Tuesday which will keep him with the Rangers through 2015.

Levine was named assistant GM shortly after Daniels became the eighth general manager in club history in October 2005. He had spent the previous six seasons in the Colorado Rockies’ organization before coming to Texas.

Rangers Notes: Texas Sweeps its Way to 6-0 Start

Matt Harrison struck out a career-high eight batters Sunday in the Rangers’ 5-1 win over the Red Sox, giving Texas the first of two series sweeps this week.

Following a come-from-behind victory over the Red Sox on Opening Day, the Rangers won five straight games against Boston and Seattle to complete a 6-0 homestand and remain the only undefeated team in the American League after the season’s first week.

On Saturday, Ian Kinsler became the first player in major league history to hit leadoff home runs in his team’s first two games of the season, taking Red Sox starter John Lackey deep in the first inning after doing the same to Jon Lester on Friday.

When Kinsler and Nelson Cruz homered again on Sunday, they became the first set of teammates in history to both hit home runs in each of their team’s first three games. Cruz’s second-inning shot off Clay Buchholz landed in the upper home run porch in right field, making him the first right-handed batter to reach the porch since Chad Curtis did so against Tampa Bay in 2000.

Cruz kept his power streak alive until Monday, when he became just the third player since 1919 – and the first American Leaguer – to homer in each of his team’s first four games in a season, joining Willie Mays of the ‘71 Giants and Mark McGwire of the ‘98 Cardinals.

Meanwhile, Mike Napoli slugged home runs in each of his first two games in a Texas uniform, and Elvis Andrus went deep Monday against the Mariners’ Erik Bedard for his first homer since September 2009.

In addition to a barrage of extra-base hits, the Rangers received five solid performances in a row from their starting rotation, highlighted by Matt Harrison’s career-best eight strikeouts on Sunday and capped off by C.J. Wilson’s duel with Felix Hernandez on Wednesday.

Colby Lewis and Derek Holland each gave up three earned runs across six innings of work in their starts, and right-hander Alexi Ogando held the Mariners scoreless over six innings pitched to earn the win in his first big-league start on Tuesday.

The Rangers have an off day Thursday before embarking on their first road trip of the season, a three-city swing with three games apiece in Baltimore, Detroit and New York.

Cuban Outfielder Could Sign with Rangers

It was reported Wednesday that Texas is close to signing Cuban defector Leonys Martin, a left-handed-hitting outfielder who batted .326 with 10 home runs last season in Cuba’s top-level league.

According to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, “the Red Sox were said by a source to have offered $12 million, and … the Rangers topped that offer.”

Martin, 23, had previously been linked to the Toronto Blue Jays after defecting from Cuba in 2010 and becoming an international free agent last month.

Young Passes Sundberg on All-Time List

Although Michael Young made his first career start at first base on Tuesday, the game was his 1,513^th in a Rangers uniform, moving him past Jim Sundberg for second place among the club’s all-time leaders in that category.

Beginning his 11^th full season with Texas, Young now trails only Rafael Palmeiro (1,573) on the franchise list for games played.

Rangers Beat A’s to Clinch A.L. West Title

Michael Young (left) is headed to the postseason for the first time in his 10-year career with the Rangers.

The Rangers secured their first playoff berth since 1999 with a 4-3 win over the Oakland A’s on Saturday, clinching the American League West division pennant in game 154 of the season. Texas won the A.L. West three times in four years — 1996, ’98 and ’99 — before enduring an 11-year postseason drought.

Third baseman Michael Young brought the team back from a 1-0 deficit with his leadoff home run in the third inning against Oakland left-hander Gio Gonzalez.

After becoming only the fourth player to appear in 1,500 games as a Ranger on Thursday (joining Rafael Palmeiro, Jim Sundberg and Ivan Rodriguez), Young is headed to the playoffs for the first time in his career. “It means everything to me,” he said. “I made my big-league debut here in 2000…the fact I’m still a Ranger means everything to me. I want to play here. I want to win here. I want to finish my career here. This is just a start.”

The game was decided in the eighth inning when infielder Jorge Cantu broke a 3-3 tie with his first home run as a Ranger. Prior to his two runs batted in Saturday, Cantu established a dubious record by going 83 consecutive plate appearances without an RBI to begin career with Texas. The previous high of 76 plate appearances had been set by outfielder Juan Beniquez in 1976.

Right-hander Neftali Feliz got the final out of the eighth before pitching a scoreless ninth inning to set a new major-league record for saves by a rookie with his 38^th of the season. The 22-year-old Feliz eclipsed the previous mark of 37 saves set by Mariners right-hander Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000.

A day after clinching the A.L. West, many of the Texas regulars received a day off while the offense exploded for a season-high 16 runs on 22 hits against the Athletics, including seven runs in the ninth inning. Following three straight games in which they did not score an earned run – a new club record – the Rangers pushed across 30 runs on 49 hits over the final three games in Oakland.

Also Sunday, manager Ron Washington announced that left-hander Cliff Lee will start Game 1 of the American League Division Series followed by left-hander C.J. Wilson in Game 2 and right-hander Colby Lewis in Game 3. Texas will open the ALDS Wednesday, Oct. 6, on the road against either the New York Yankees or Tampa Bay Rays, with Game 3 (and Game 4, if necessary) to be held at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Rangers Notes: Streak Ends, but Wins Keep Coming

Ian Kinsler, who hit .400 with six RBIs on the team’s recent homestand, turns a double play in Saturday’s 7-2 win over the Astros.

Before their loss to Houston on Friday, the Rangers had won 11 games in a row, good for the second-longest winning streak in club history (only a 14-game win streak in 1991 was longer). Texas came back to beat the Astros Saturday and Sunday, and the team carries a 4.5-game division lead into this week’s series against the second-place Angels in Anaheim.

The Rangers have now won eight consecutive series, and they improved their season record to 46-29, trailing only the New York Yankees for the best in all of baseball.

Left fielder Josh Hamilton hit a two-run home run off the Astros’ Roy Oswalt at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 21 games, tied for the longest streak in the majors this year. Hamilton is batting .470 this month with nine home runs, 30 RBIs and an .850 slugging percentage.

Right-hander Alexi Ogando pitched three scoreless innings Wednesday against the Pirates to earn his third win in as many games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Ogando is just the third pitcher since 1900 to get wins in each of the first three relief appearances of his career.

A week after moving into first place on the Rangers’ career hit list, third baseman Michael Young tripled Thursday off Pittsburgh’s Evan Meek to pass Ruben Sierra as the club’s all-time leader in three-baggers (45). In addition, Young is just 17 at-bats shy of eclipsing Rafael Palmeiro (5,830) as the Rangers’ all-time leader in that category, and his 334 career doubles are second only to Ivan Rodriguez’s club record of 352.

It was announced Wednesday that broadcaster Tom Grieve has been selected as the newest member of the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame, and he will be inducted in a pre-game ceremony on July 24. Grieve spent much of his playing career with the Washington/Texas franchise before joining the front office in 1980.

With the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline just over a month away, the Rangers are one of four teams to have contacted Seattle about acquiring ace left-hander Cliff Lee, though MLBTradeRumors.com reports that “many project the [Minnesota] Twins as the front runner.” Lee, who missed the first part of this season with an oblique injury, has 76 strikeouts against only four walks with a 2.39 ERA in 11 starts.

Rangers Notes: Guerrero Leads Charge Past Royals

Vladimir Guerrero follows through on his second-inning home run Friday off Kansas City Royals right-hander Zack Greinke.

Designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero continued his torrid hitting at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington with three home runs and seven RBI in a four-game sweep of Kansas City over the weekend. Guerrero leads the American League with a .464 home batting average this season, and his career .410 average at the Ballpark is the highest of any current player at one given stadium.

Third baseman Michael Young moved past Rafael Palmeiro into second place on the club’s all-time hit list Thursday with a fourth-inning single off Royals starter Kyle Davies. Young followed with another single off reliever Bruce Chen in the sixth to give him 1,694 career hits as a Ranger, just 53 short of tying Ivan Rodriguez’s team record (1,747).

With his nine-inning complete game victory over Kansas City Friday, left-hander C.J. Wilson became just the third pitcher in team history to open a season with six straight “quality starts” — at least six innings pitched, allowing three earned runs or less — following right-handers Charlie Hough (1988) and Kevin Brown (1993). Wilson currently has a 3-1 record and an American League-leading 1.51 ERA.

On Saturday, LoneStarBall.com reported that Texas will make its first pitching-related roster move of the season when it sends Matt Harrison to the 15-day disabled list and recalls left-hander Derek Holland from Triple-A Oklahoma City. After not making the rotation out of spring training, Holland has put together a 4-1 record with 37 strikeouts and a 0.93 ERA in six starts for the RedHawks, and he is expected to start on Wednesday against the Athletics.

Right-hander Rich Harden sparkled in his first career start against his former team last Monday in Oakland, striking out nine A’s batters across seven shutout innings to earn his second win of the season. In five years with Oakland, Harden compiled a 36-19 record with 523 strikeouts before being traded to the Chicago Cubs in 2008. “I felt like my old self,” he told MLB.com. “I just cleared my head and made my pitches. … I’m at my best when I don’t think about it, but just let it go.”

Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and first baseman Chris Davis have both been hitting well since being sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Saltalamacchia leads the RedHawks with a .368 batting average while Davis is hitting .357 with 15 runs batted in. On the flip side, catcher Taylor Teagarden is just 1-for-14 with nine strikeouts in his first four games with Oklahoma City.