Texas Rangers

A quiet day in clubhouse plus lineups

It's a slow news day at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. TCU baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle is throwing out the first pitch. No word on whether former Rangers first rounder Matt Purke will be with the team.

No rest for any of the Rangers starters, as they try to win their eighth-consecutive series. That would tie the club record. They will face Roy Oswalt, who could be pitching for the Rangers  by this time next month. Texas manager Ron Washington compared Oswalt to Tim Hudson.

As for the lineups

Rangers (Tommy Hunter)

1. Elvis Andrus, SS

2. Michael Young, 3B

3. Ian Kinsler, 2B

4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH

5. Josh Hamilton, LF

6. Nelson Cruz, RF

7. Justin Smoak, 1B

8. Matt Treanor, C

9. Julio Borbon, CF

Astros (Roy Oswalt)

1. Michael Bourn, CF

2. Jason Bourgeois, LF

3. Lance Berkman, 1B

4. Carlos Lee, DH

5. Jason Michaels, RF

6. Geoff Blum, 2B

7. Chris Johnson, 3B

8. Jason Castro, C

9. Oswaldo Navarro, SS

- Anthony Andro

Saturday notes and lineup

It's been a quiet morning. Neither team is hitting outside.

Julio Borbon is not playing today. Josh Hamilton is starting in center and David Murphy in left field. Manager Ron Washington said he's trying to get all his starters a day off when he can, with the exception of Michael Young. Young said he doesn't know if he'll play 162 games, but as long as he feels good, he wants to be in the lineup.

The Rangers will of course wear red today with C.J. Wilson starting.

No Astros lineup yet, but here is the Rangers.

Rangers (C.J. Wilson)

1. Elvis Andrus, SS

2. Michael Young, 3B

3. Ian Kinsler, 2B

4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH

5. Josh Hamilton, CF

6. Nelson Cruz, RF

7. David Murphy, LF

8. Justin Smoak, 1B

9. Max Ramirez, C

- Anthony Andro

Some post-game notes after a disappointing loss

The dust-up between Max Ramirez and the umpire in the ninth happened after Ramirez and Alexi Ogando got crossed up on a pitch, causing home-plate umpire Eric Cooper to get hit in the mask. Texas manager Ron Washington didn't fault Ramirez at all.

Crew chief Mike Reilly said it was the third time Cooper had been hit by a pitch this year. "We said come on, you've got to get a glove on that," Reilly said. "It was probably said more out of frustration."

"The umpire was getting out of control and I had to get him back in control," Washington said. "The ball got away on a mix-up on a pitch. One of them (umpires) said something they shouldn't have said. That's what that was about."

Washington also said that he didn't call for the bunt attempts by Elvis Andrus in the eighth inning or Nelson Cruz in the ninth.

Ian Kinsler declined to talk about his third-inning ejection.

The 19-game hitting streak for Josh Hamilton is the longest in the major leagues since Houston's Miguel Tejada hit in 21 straight from Sept. 11-Oct. 4 last year.

- Anthony Andro

Ron Washington makes no apologies for schedule

Texas manager Ron Washington doesn't care that the Rangers 11-game winning streak has come against teams under .500. The Rangers still had to win those games. Here's Washington's take from his pre-game meeting with the media.

"Every team has a weak part of their schedule," he said. "If Anaheim right now was kicking butt the way we're kicking butt they'd be a great team. But since the Texas Rangers are doing it, it's weak opponents. They're a major league team. I didn't see Pittsburgh lie down in those three games we played them. I didn't Milwaukee lie down. I didn't see Florida lie down. We played better baseball than them, bottom line.

 

"Everybody's got a weak part of the schedule, so people say. I don't look at it like that. On any given night, any team can get beat. It's not the best team that wins, it's the team that plays the best. You can play the best team in the world. If you play better than them that night, does it make you better than them? That's the way we take it, one night at a time."

 

- Anthony Andro

Friday pre-game notes and lineup

But first, a weather report. It's raining at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, and the tarp is on the field. The Rangers were supposed to hit outside. That' s not happening.

Texas has decided to skip its fifth starter after all. The Rangers will go with the trio of Scott Feldman, Colby Lewis and C.J. Wilson for the three-game series starting Tuesday in Anaheim. The bullpen spot will now see action next Saturday against the Chicago White Sox. Feldman said he's ready to start on four days rest and feels fresh.

As I write this now, it's raining a little harder (4:17).

The Rangers are going with the regular lineup tonight. The Astros haven't posted their yet, but here is the Rangers.

Rangers (Colby Lewis)

1. Elvis Andrus, SS

2. Michael Young, 3B

3. Ian Kinsler, 2B

4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH

5. Josh Hamilton, LF

6. Nelson Cruz, RF

7. Justin Smoak, 1B

8. Max Ramirez, C

9. Julio Borbon, CF

It's now 4:19 and it's not raining quite as hard.

- Anthony Andro

Rangers Baseball Express wants hearing date moved up

Chuck Greenberg said that Rangers Baseball Express has filed a motion to have the July 22 date for the hearing on the team's bankruptcy moved back to its original July 9 date. Judge Michael Lynn will make a decision on the motion Friday. Rangers Baseball Express believes the later date hurts the value of the club as well as hampers the team's ability to make moves before the July 31 trade deadline.

- Anthony Andro

Josh Hamilton back in lineup, notes and lineup

Outfielder Josh Hamilton is back playing left and batting fifth tonight. Hamilton took Tuesday off because his hamstrings were sore. He said it was more of a precautionary thing than anything else, and he didn't want it to become a problem.

The team is undecided on who will start Tuesday's series opener in Los Angeles. Manager Ron Washington said the team will not skip a starter, meaning its likely the Tuesday bid will go to either Dustin Nippert, Matt Harrison or someone from Triple A like Guillermo Moscoso.

General manager Jon Daniels lost a bet with Elvis Andrus when the team won its 10th-consecutive game. Daniels had gold highlights put in his hair Wednesday,

Warner Madrigal has been outrighted to Oklahoma City, freeing up a spot for the Rangers on the 40-man roster. The team also released veteran catcher Toby Hall, who was rehabbing his shoulder in Arizona.

The lineups

Rangers (Scott Feldman)

1. Elvis Andrus, SS

2. Michael Young, 3B

3. Ian Kinsler, 2B

4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH

5. Josh Hamilton, LF

6. Nelson Cruz, RF

7. Justin Smoak 1B

8. Matt Treanor, C

9. Julio Borbon, CF

Pirates (Jeff Karstens)

1. Jose Tabata, LF

2. Neil Walker, 2B

3. Andrew McCutchen, CF

4. Garrett Jones, 1B

5. Ryan Church, DH

6. Pedro Alvarez, 3B

7. Ryan Doumit, C

8. Lastings Milledge, RF

9. Bobby Crosby, SS

- Anthony Andro

Some Rangers post-game notes

Alexi Ogando is just the third pitcher since 1900 to record three relief victories in his first three appearances.

The 43-28 start matches the best in club history, which was also done in 1996.

The 25-11 start at RBIA matches the second-best start in team history.

Michael Young has at least 10 homers in eight-consecutive seasons, matching Ruben Sierra for the fourth-most in club history.

The only other save of Matt Harrison's career came in 2003 for the Gulf Coast Braves.

- Anthony Andro

Michael Young wasn't thinking cycle

Michael Young was a triple short of the cycle after just four innings Wednesday, but didn't get a chance to go for it as he was pulled to get some rest. Manager Ron Washington joked that if he would have left Young in hte game, he probably would have hit something in the gap and settled for a double.

Young didn't disagree.

"Anytime Wash can get me off my feet for a couple of innings it always seems to pay off," Young said. "When I came out we were up 11 runs, chances are I'm not even going to go for a triple anyway. There's a time and place to stretch it and that wouldn't have been it."

- Anthony Andro

Derek Holland not expected back until after All-Star break

He is still having issued with his right kneecap, although his shoulder is fine. Holland could resume throwing this weekend or early next week, and then begin a rehab process. The team believes he'll be an option soon after the All-Star Break.

- Anthony Andro