Rangers Notes: Darvish’s Return Lifts Texas into First Place

Yu Darvish is 2-0 across his first two major-league starts this season, striking out 12 batters while issuing just two free passes.

Backed by a pair of strong starts from a healthy Yu Darvish, the Rangers moved past Seattle in the American League West standings and now hold a three-game division lead over the Mariners following a weekend sweep in Arlington.

Darvish made his first big-league start in nearly two years May 28 against Pittsburgh, scattering three hits and recording seven strikeouts across five innings as Texas cruised to a 5-2 victory.

After he retired the side in the top of the first, Darvish’s teammates gave the three-time All-Star some quick support with three runs off Pirates right-hander Juan Nicasio. Jurickson Profar led off with a single and came around to score before Adrian Beltre launched a two-run homer to center field.

Mitch Moreland took Nicasio deep in the bottom of the fourth to pad the Rangers’ lead, and Darvish allowed his only run on an RBI single from Cole Figueroa in the fifth.

Relievers Tony Barnette, Jake Diekman and Matt Bush followed Darvish on the mound with one scoreless inning apiece, and Sam Dyson permitted one run before retiring Sean Rodriguez to seal the win for Texas.

Pittsburgh had rolled to a 9-1 rout over the Rangers and Cole Hamels the night before, setting up a rubber match Sunday between southpaws Martin Perez and Francisco Liriano.

The Pirates drew first blood against Perez, scoring one run on Andrew McCutchen’s first-inning RBI double and another on David Freese’s solo homer in the third.

In the bottom of the fourth, Prince Fielder hit a towering home run to right field off Liriano – his first long ball in more than a month – before walks to Beltre and Ryan Rua set the table for Moreland’s go-ahead three-run shot.

The Texas bullpen trio of Bush, Barnette and Dyson combined to allow just one hit over three shutout innings as the Rangers took the series with a 6-2 win.

After winning two out of three games at Progressive Field in Cleveland last week (the only defeat courtesy of Yan Gomes’ walk-off single in the 11th inning on Wednesday), Texas returned to Globe Life Park for a weekend matchup against the Mariners.

Darvish was given an early lead with which to work again Friday, retiring the side in order before Beltre hammered a three-run home run off Seattle starter Taijuan Walker in the bottom of the first.

Beltre would later add a two-run double to finish the night with five RBIs, and Darvish was backed up by another solid performance from the bullpen as part of a 7-3 victory for Texas.

On Saturday, Perez scattered six hits and allowed single runs in three different innings, but he was bailed out by a potent Rangers offense that scored early and often against Nathan Karns.

Nomar Mazara’s sacrifice fly brought home the first tally for Texas, and Rua followed with a two-run double down the left-field line. Holding a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning, the Rangers scored four more times to put the game out of reach, with Elvis Andrus’ three-run homer off Vidal Nuno the nail in Seattle’s coffin.

Texas fell behind 2-0 Sunday when Nelson Cruz blasted a two-run shot off former teammate Derek Holland, but the Rangers’ lineup rallied for three runs against Hisashi Iwakuma in the bottom of the fifth.

A single from Rougned Odor and a fielding error by Seattle’s Luis Sardinas set up Jared Hoying’s run-scoring single to put Texas on the board. Andrus came home when Bobby Wilson followed with a sac fly, and Profar provided the go-ahead run on an opposite-field RBI single.

Holland was followed on the hill by shutout performances from Bush, Diekman and Dyson, who tossed a perfect ninth inning to complete the 3-2 win and earn his seventh save of the year.

Young to Join Team Hall of Fame

Former infielder Michael Young was announced as the 20th member of the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday, and he will be inducted during a pregame ceremony next month in Arlington.

The seven-time All-Star spent 13 of his 14 major-league seasons with Texas, collecting more total bases (3,286), hits (2,230), runs (1,085), doubles (415) and triples (55) than any player in franchise history.

Young took home the 2005 A.L. batting title with a .331 average and the following year was named MVP of the All-Star Game at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park.

“It means a lot,” he said. “Obviously nowadays it’s rare that a player spends as much time with a team but it was a great time for me … reaching new heights. To be in one place like that for a long time and have the relationship with the fans, it’s very special.”

After splitting his final season between the Phillies and Dodgers, Young returned to Texas and officially retired in a Rangers uniform on Jan. 31, 2014.

Roster Reinforced with Darvish, Profar

When Rougned Odor’s seven-game suspension began on May 27, infielder Jurickson Profar was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock as right-hander Shawn Tolleson was placed on Major League Baseball’s family medical emergency list.

Joey Gallo was optioned back to Triple-A the following day in order to clear an active roster spot for Yu Darvish, and more transactions were needed when Odor and Tolleson re-joined the club a week later.

On Friday, Tolleson was reinstated while left-hander Alex Claudio was optioned to Triple-A, and Hanser Alberto followed Claudio to Round Rock on Saturday when Tom Wilhelmsen was recalled by the Rangers.

In addition, right-handed swingman Nick Tepesch – who had a chance to earn the fifth starter’s role during spring training – requested and was granted his unconditional release Saturday.

Rangers Notes: Hamilton Returns for Second Stint in Texas

Josh Hamilton began working out Tuesday at the Rangers’ spring training complex in Arizona, one day after his trade to Texas was formalized.

In a move that was announced quickly but may have been in the works for months, outfielder Josh Hamilton was re-acquired from the Angels on Monday in exchange for a player to be named later and cash.

Additionally, Los Angeles will pay a large portion of the roughly $80 million in salary still owed to Hamilton, with the Rangers reportedly on the hook for a total of less than $7 million.

Hamilton has not played this season (and did not even report to spring training) after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder in February. It was revealed later that month that he had also suffered a drug relapse which he admitted to MLB.

Following weeks in limbo while his case was reviewed first by a four-member panel and then by an arbitrator, Hamilton learned in early April that he would not face any disciplinary measures by the league.

That decision ruffled a few feathers within the Angels organization, as Los Angeles had been hoping for a suspension in order to get some salary relief from Hamilton’s contract.

In the end, however, the Halos were all but forced to sell low on Hamilton, which is how he wound up back on the team with which he enjoyed his greatest success.

“Today is about moving forward,” Hamilton said at a press conference Monday afternoon at Globe Life Park. “It feels good to be back in Arlington. A lot of ballgames won here. It’s still the loudest ballpark I’ve played in.”

After signing a five-year, $125 million deal with the Angels in December 2012, Hamilton turned in back-to-back subpar seasons with numbers far below his career averages.

A lifetime .304 hitter who had made five straight All-Star Game appearances before joining the Angels, he batted just .255 during his time in Anaheim while garnering only one major honor – an American League Player of the Week award in April 2014.

Hamilton’s solid start last year was interrupted when he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb on an attempted dive into first base, an injury that required surgery and ultimately cost him two months’ worth of playing time.

“We determined as an organization that this is the right move for us,” Los Angeles general manager Jerry Dipoto said of Hamilton’s departure.

“It was something we determined some time ago … This was not the way we envisioned any of this playing out when we signed Josh, but at the end of the day, we felt this was the best for the team, to be able to clear the air and move forward with [the] 25 guys we have on the field today.”

A day after his re-introductory press conference in Texas, the 33-year-old Hamilton arrived at the team’s spring training complex in Surprise, Ariz., where he worked out and took about 50 swings off a tee.

The plan is for him to gradually increase his strength and stamina before beginning a rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock later this month.

Surgery Sends Moreland to DL

First baseman Mitch Moreland was a late scratch Tuesday while dealing with lingering tightness in his left elbow, and the decision was made for him to be placed on the 15-day disabled list and undergo surgery Wednesday to remove bone chips from the area.

The injury is expected to keep Moreland out of action for two to three weeks, and first baseman Kyle Blanks was called up from Round Rock to replace him on the active roster. A 40-man roster spot was created for Blanks when outfielder Alex Hassan was designated for assignment.

Blanks was recently named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week after hitting .565 over a seven-game stretch with two home runs, five doubles and six runs batted in for the Express.

Scheppers Optioned to Round Rock

Right-handed reliever Tanner Scheppers was optioned to Triple-A on Monday while southpaw Alex Claudio was recalled from Round Rock to replace him on the Rangers’ active roster.

Scheppers, 28, had been shaky in his five outings since returning from a sprained ankle in mid-April, posting an earned run average of 11.25 and allowing either a base hit or a walk in every appearance.

Seattle Completes Sweep in Arlington

Texas dropped two out of three games to the Angels in Southern California over the weekend before enduring a three-game home sweep at the hands of the Mariners.

Seattle cruised to relatively easy victories Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday behind quality starts from Taijuan Walker, J.A. Happ and Felix Hernandez, respectively, with closer Fernando Rodney earning the save in all three games.