Texas Rangers

Wrapping up the Rangers' 5-1 victory over the Red Sox

Ian Kinsler got things going quickly for the Texas Rangers, sending John Lackey’s first pitch of the night into the left-field seats. It was his 28^th career leadoff homer, and the Rangers have won nine consecutive games when Kinsler leads off with a homer.

“I was just ready to hit,” Kinsler said. “He gave me a good pitch and I put a good swing on it.”

Kinsler now has four career homers off Lackey, which ties for his most off a single pitcher along with John Danks and Joe Saunders.

Kinsler’s hit was the first of 10 for the Rangers, who are batting .378 over the first two games of the series.

Here are other notes from the game:

* Alexi Ogando earned his first win since April 8. He held the Red Sox to one run on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six-plus innings. Ogando battled for most of the night, but was pleased with his fastball command. “I couldn’t locate all my pitches and some of the hitters took advantage of that,” Ogando said. “I felt really good about my fastball and I was able to pound them inside the white lines and they really helped me with my slider.”

* Craig Gentry came through with his first homer of the season, a two-run shot in the eighth inning that snapped a 100-game homerless drought. Gentry finished the game by going 2-for-4 with a career-high-tying three RBIs.

* Closer Joe Nathan worked a perfect ninth inning, his first game action since April 26.

* With the win, the Rangers guaranteed themselves of winning the series. They are now 6-1-3 in their 10 series this season. Texas has had a good track record against Boston since the 2009 season, too, as it has gone 27-12.

-- Drew Davison

Rangers 5, Red Sox 1 (F)

ARLINGTON – Ian Kinsler swatted a leadoff homer in the first inning, Alexi Ogando had his third consecutive quality start and the Texas Rangers pulled away for a 5-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night at Rangers Ballpark.

With the win, the Rangers clinched their sixth series victory and improved to 19-11 on the season.

Kinsler started things off by taking Red Sox starter John Lackey deep to left. It wasn’t a close call, although Boston outfielder Daniel Nava looked confused as he played it as though it would be a routine fly out.

But Nava came through offensively for the Red Sox with an RBI single in the second that scored David Ortiz and tied the game at 1-1.

The Rangers regained a 3-1 lead in the fourth. Craig Gentry had an infield RBI single that scored two runs when the Red Sox made an error.

Gentry then sealed the game with a two-run homer in the eighth inning off Red Sox reliever Koji Uehara. It was Gentry’s first of the season, and third career blast.

Ogando earned his first victory since April 8. He allowed one run on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six innings. Robbie Ross, Tanner Scheppers and Joe Nathan pitched the final three innings.

-- Drew Davison

Tonight's Rangers-Red Sox lineups

David Murphy is out with a stomach bug, which means Craig Gentry and Leonys Martin are starting for the first time together. They will be roaming center and left field for Alexi Ogando, who is looking for his first win since April 8.

Texas -- 1. Ian Kinsler, 2b; 2. Elvis Andrus, ss; 3. Lance Berkman, dh; 4. Adrian Beltre, 3b; 5. A.J. Pierzynski, c; 6. Nelson Cruz, rf; 7. Mitch Moreland, 1b; 8. Craig Gentry, cf; 9. Leonys Martin, lf.

RHP Alexi Ogando (2-2, 3.38 ERA)

Boston -- 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, cf; 2. Shane Victorino, rf; 3. Dustin Pedroia, 2b; 4. David Ortiz, dh; 5. Mike Napoli, 1b; 6. Daniel Nava, lf; 7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c; 8. Will Middlebrooks, 3b; 9. Stephen Drew, ss.

RHP John Lackey (1-1, 2.61 ERA)

Derek Holland turns in his best start of the season

A.J. Pierzynski called it the best game he’s seen Derek Holland pitch. Holland wasn’t going to disagree with that statement.

Holland threw eight scoreless innings, scattering six hits with one walk and nine strikeouts, to lead the Texas Rangers’ to a 7-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night at Rangers Ballpark.

The Red Sox entered the game as the best team in the majors, as they are the only team at the 20-win mark.

“That was pretty impressive tonight,” first baseman Mitch Moreland said of Holland's outing. “He did whatever he wanted to do with the ball. That was a lot of fun to watch and play behind because he was pretty dominant.”

Said Pierzynski: “He had all of his pitches going. His fastball was really good and he used his slider early in the game to get some strikeouts. And he had a changeup whenever he was behind in the count.”

The 112-pitch outing was the best to date for Holland, who improved to 2-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.74. He also continued his dominance against the Red Sox, as he is now 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA in six career starts against them.

Holland retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced, and induced inning-ending double play grounders in the fourth and fifth.

In the fourth, Shane Victorino had a leadoff single, but Holland responded by striking out Dustin Pedroia and getting David Ortiz to bounce into a double play.

“That was huge,” Holland said. “I never gave in and continued to plug away. Those are two good guys there and I came away on top.”

In the fifth, Holland got Will Middlebrooks to roll into a double play after he issued a one-out walk to Jonny Gomes.

Holland ended his night by stranding four combined base runners the final three innings. He also benefited from the most run support he’s received this season. Going into the game, the Rangers had given Holland a total of nine runs over his first five starts.

“I always treat it as if it’s a 0-0 game,” Holland said. “That’s what I told myself. I want to keep the momentum on my side. Those guys were swinging it well for me tonight and I wanted to do everything I could to keep them on fire like they were.”

Asked if he felt it was his best performance of the season, Holland said: “I’d say it was probably one of my best ones for sure, but I’ve got to give credit to my defense and A.J. has been great back there for me."

-- Drew Davison

Rangers 7, Red Sox 0 (F)

ARLINGTON – The offense came through with timely hits, Derek Holland had his best start of the season and the Texas Rangers rolled to a 7-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night at Rangers Ballpark.

The Rangers’ offense had been reeling with runners in scoring position, but finally broke through with a season-high 17 hits. They scored a run in the second on an infield single by Craig Gentry, and then broke loose for five runs in the fourth inning.

With two outs and a runner on first, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus had consecutive singles that produced one run. Lance Berkman then drew a walk to load the bases, and Adrian Beltre delivered a bases-clearing, three-run double.

Beltre had been 4-for-his-last-34 with runners in scoring position. Beltre wound up scoring, too, as Nelson Cruz singled to center.

The Rangers extended their lead to 7-0 on an RBI double by Kinsler in the fifth.

That was more than enough for Holland, who threw eight scoreless innings, scattering six hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. He improved to 2-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.74 for the season.

Reliever Derek Lowe worked the ninth, and held the shutout in tact. It's the Rangers' fifth shutout of the season, as they are tied for most in the American League with Seattle and Tampa Bay.

Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli, in his first game back at Rangers Ballpark, went 0-for-4 and ended the game by grounding out.

-- Drew Davison

Tonight's Rangers-Red Sox lineups

Texas Rangers outfielder David Murphy is out of the starting lineup again, as Jeff Baker gets the start in leftfield with the Boston Red Sox starting lefty Felix Doubront tonight.

Other than that, it's the usual suspects for the Rangers.

Texas -- 1. Ian Kinsler, 2b; 2. Elvis Andrus, ss; 3. Lance Berkman, dh; 4. Adrian Beltre, 3b; 5. Nelson Cruz, rf; 6. A.J. Pierzynski, c; 7. Jeff Baker, lf; 8. Mitch Moreland, 1b; 9. Craig Gentry, cf.

LHP Derek Holland (1-2, 3.38 ERA)

Boston -- 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, cf; 2. Shane Victorino, rf; 3. Dustin Pedroia, 2b; 4. David Ortiz, dh; 5. Mike Napoli, 1b; 6. Jonny Gomes, lf; 7. Will Middlebrooks, 3b; 8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c; 9. Pedro Ciriaco, ss.

LHP Felix Doubront (3-0, 4.24 ERA)

Adrian Beltre struggling with runners in scoring position

Adrian Beltre has been a 100-RBI guy the past three seasons, but he has not gotten off to that type of pace this season.

Beltre swatted his sixth homer of the season, a solo shot in the second inning, for his 12th RBI on Thursday night, and had chances to do more damage later in the game.

With the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, Beltre bounced into an inning-ending double play on a backdoor slider by White Sox reliever Matt Lindstrom. Then, with runners at first and second and two outs in the eighth, Beltre struck out.

Beltre is now 1-for-last-16 with runners in scoring position, and is batting .118 with RISP this season.

"I am the kind of guy that I like to produce, and I'm here to produce," Beltre said. "Obviously it's not happening. I'm not frustrated, but of course I want to do better because the team is relying on me right now and I'm getting in a lot of situations where I should be producing."

Beltre was optimistic that his swing is starting to come around, though. The second inning homer is a good sign, as he's gone deep in three of the last six games.

"That's what I want to think," he said. "I feel better today even though I missed two at-bats in key situations where I didn't come through. But I saw the ball better today, and hopefully tomorrow I'll improve."

-- Drew Davison

White Sox 3, Rangers 1 (F)

ARLINGTON – The Chicago White Sox scratched former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy before the game, but emergency starter Hector Santiago pitched well on short notice.

The Texas Rangers managed only one run off Santiago and couldn’t capitalize on opportunities later in the game, as they fell 3-1 on a chilly Thursday night at Rangers Ballpark.

The White Sox took the series, 2-1, which marked the first series loss for the Rangers this season. They were the last team in the majors to lose a series, and have lost four of their last five.

Rangers starter Justin Grimm held the White Sox scoreless through the first five innings before running into trouble in the sixth. With two outs, he gave up a pair of singles and then a three-run homer to White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers.

That proved to be the pivotal play of the game.

The Rangers had taken a 1-0 lead when Adrian Beltre homered to start the second. They didn’t get anything else off Santiago, though, who allowed one run on two hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Beltre and the Rangers had more chances later on. With the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, Beltre bounced into an inning-ending double play. With runners on first and second and two outs in the eighth, Beltre struck out.

In the ninth, Nelson Cruz drew a leadoff walk and David Murphy reached on a one-out walk. But White Sox closer Addison Reed struck out Mitch Moreland and Leonys Martin to end the game.

The Rangers have scored 15 runs over their past five games, including 10 on Tuesday.

-- Drew Davison

Thursday's Rangers notes: Grimm named AL rookie of the month

Towards the end of spring training, Justin Grimm was pitching in minor league games and preparing to start the season at Triple A Round Rock. He started out with the Express and hoped to make it back to the big leagues.

It happened sooner than he even expected. Grimm made only one start with Round Rock before he was recalled to the big leagues when Matt Harrison, the Rangers' Opening Day starter, went down with a back injury.

Grimm impressed after that, going 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA over three starts and was named the American League rookie of the month for April. He has the lowest ERA among AL rookie qualifiers going into his start tonight against the White Sox.

Grimm is the fourth Ranger to win the monthly award since it began in 2003, joining Gerald Laird, Neftali Feliz and Yu Darvish.

The Rangers other rookie in the rotation, Nick Tepesch, finished second in the voting.

Here are a few other notes from Thursday afternoon:

* Jeff Baker gets his third start tonight in left field, as the White Sox scratched scheduled starter Jake Peavy and will go with left-hander Hector Santiago. It's the third consecutive left-hander the Rangers have faced, and manager Ron Washington is riding the hot bats.

That leaves David Murphy out of the lineup for a third consecutive game and it could stretch to four on Friday as the Red Sox are starting a lefty. Murphy understands the decision with the slow start he's gotten off to this season.

"It's no question that I'm slumping," Murphy said.

* Third baseman Mike Olt, the Rangers' No. 2 prospect, has had vision issues this season and was evaluated by an eye doctor. The eye doctor did not find anything out of the ordinary, and recommended that Olt see an eye specialist. The Rangers are currently setting up an appointment with the specialist.

* MLB and the players' union have combined to donate $100,000 for the victims of the West explosion last month. Fans will be encouraged to donate during all national broadcasts, as well.

-- Drew Davison

Thursday's White Sox-Rangers lineups: David Murphy out (again)

David Murphy will be out of the Rangers' starting lineup for a third straight game after Chicago scratched right-hander Jake Peavy and replaced him with left-hander Hector Santiago.

He becomes the third White Sox left to start in this three-game series, and the right-handed-hitting Jeff Baker has replaced the left-handed-hitting Murphy for a third straight game. Manager Ron Washington said that there is no platoon in left-field, but Baker is too hot to sit and Mitch Moreland, another lefty hitter, is also hot right now.

A.J. Pierzynski, though, is in the lineup for the first time in the series against his former team after two games off to rest a bothersome right oblique muscle.

White Sox lineup vs. RHP Justin Grimm: Alejandro De Aza, lf; Jeff Keppinger, 2b; Alex Rios, rf; Adam Dunn, 1b; Paul Konerko, dh; Conor Gillaspie, 3b; Alexei Ramirez, ss; Tyler Flowers, c; Dewayne Wise, cf.

Rangers lineup vs. LHP Hector Santiago: Ian Kinsler, 2b; Elvis Andrus, ss; Lance Berkman, dh; Adrian Beltre, 3b; Nelson Cruz, rf; A.J. Pierzynski, c; Jeff Baker, lf; Mitch Moreland, 1b; Craig Gentry, cf.

-- Jeff Wilson