Holland Dominates Mariners As Texas Gets Back On Winning Track

Perhaps some fans had began to wonder exactly why Derek Holland has been the Texas Rangers' top pitching prospect the last few years, as he's struggled to find his footing for a fair portion of his rookie year. But last night, against the Seattle Mariners, Holland gave everyone a glimpse into what Rangers fans hope is the not-so-distant future. The young rookie pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings (his relief would allow a run to score which was credited to Holland), allowing just two hits the entire night. In the process, he struck out ten batters, walking just one and completely shut down a Mariners that had taken it to Texas just before the All-Star break.

"I think we got a real good look at Derek Holland, as his future gets better," manager Ron Washington said. "He used all his pitches. When you have his fastball and secondary pitches like that, it's hard to sit on pitches."

For the first time all season, Jarrod Saltalamacchia sat with Holland in the dugout between innings, going over hitter tendencies and keeping him focused.

"We had talked about going out there and not going with fastballs," Saltalamacchia said. "We went with off-speed early. He did a great job tonight. I don't think anyone was comfortable tonight in the box."



Upon his exit in the 9th, just one out away from a complete game, Holland was given a standing ovation.

"Hearing the crowd was an awesome feeling," Holland said. "I had chills down my spine."

Holland's offense took a lot of pressure off his back early getting him an early lead, thanks to a big 3-run inning in the bottom of the 2nd courtesy of homeruns by Hank Blalock and Saltalamacchia.

"We had great offense with Hank [Blalock] getting us started," Holland said. "They started it off for me in the second."

Texas struck again the 3rd and then again in the 5th with solo homeruns by Michael Young who had 3 hits on the night and is now hitting .326 on the season.

Marlon Byrd capped the scoring in the 7th, blasting a 2-run homer, his 10th of the year.

The win not only kept Texas 3 back of the Angels in the West but also pulled them to 1 1/2 games back of the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Race.

Tigers Run It Up Against Feldman, Rangers

Every team is gonna have nights like the one the Rangers had Wednesday night against the Detroit Tigers. Scott Feldman who, up until this start, has been one of the better pitchers in the American League was shelled for 6 runs on 10 hits, lasting just 2 1/3 innings.

"It was just an all-around awful job," Feldman said. "Bad command cost me the most. I was not executing my pitches. It was just a frustrating night."

Feldman never did seem to find the 'feel' of his cutter, a pitch that has netted him so many soft outs throughout most of this season. The lack of touch resulted in several pitches outside of the strike zone, forcing Feldman to pull back and throw his fastball down the middle which is fine so long as his other pitches are working. When they aren't, a 90 mph fastball is little more than batting practice for MLB-caliber hitters.

"It wasn't our night tonight," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "They came out swinging the bats and never stopped. If you play enough games, you're going to have one like this. Tonight their bats were on. They got hits, all kinds of hits: doubles, chinks, broken bats. There was nothing we could do."



Despite 2 homeruns by Andruw Jones, the offense never really got on track, managing just 8 hits on the night while striking out a season high 18 times. Tigers starter Justin Verlander was dominant for most of the game, putting in seven innings of work en route to his 12th win of the season. Even when Verlander struggled, he was always able to work his way out of the jams.

"That's what he does," Byrd said. "He comes out throwing 90-92 [mph], then he gets into trouble and he's throwing 96-100. There is a reason why he leads the world in strikeouts. When he has guys out there with runners in scoring position, he steps up his game. You have to do that as well."

Despite scoring 3 in the bottom of the 5th, Texas never got close, allowing the Tigers to score at least one run in the first 7 innings of the game, ultimately dropping the final game of the series, 13-5.

"You gotta tip your cap to their whole team," Rangers third baseman Michael Young said. "Verlander threw a great game, they had, what, 19 hits. You just gotta file it away and move on."

Rangers Hammer Tigers, Take Control Of Series

Two nights ago, Vicente Padilla, still recovering from swine flu, informed the team he still didn't have his legs under him and should make other arrangements in case he was unable to go. The Rangers did just that, sending Doug Mathis to the mound for the spot start. Mathis, who has yet to allow a run in 20 innings of relief this season, managed four innings of work, allowing three runs (all in the top of the 2nd).

"Obviously I wanted to go a little longer," Mathis said. "I thought I threw the ball very well but that one inning got away from me. When I came out of the game, I wanted us to either be in good shape or having the lead. That's what happened."

In the bottom of the 2nd, Mathis' offense responded for him, scoring four runs off RBI doubles by both Elvis Andrus and Michael, and a 2-run triple by Ian Kinsler.



Josh Hamilton added an RBI on a bloop single and, with the way he's been struggling, you've gotta hope seeing something like like that drop in for him might mean the beginning of the end of his run of bad luck.

Doug Mathis was replaced by Jason Grilli, who entered the game in the 5th, retiring all six batters he faced over two innings of work. Grilli was not only pumped up having his father there in the stands watching him pitch but also because he pitched for the Tigers from '05-'08.

"I've spent some time over there," Grilli said after the Rangers' 7-3 victory. "It's bragging rights, playing against your friends. It's friendly competition. I've had great experiences over there."

Grilli was followed by Eddie Guardado and Darren O'Day, both of whom pitched an inning of hitless baseball. Guillermo Moscoso closed the game out with a scoreless 9th inning.

Overall, Texas' relievers were able to retire 15 of the final 16 batters they faced.

"The bullpen did a great job tonight," manager Ron Washington said. "We came back after we spotted them three runs. We were able to put together some runs."

The win moved Texas to 14 games over .500 and have now won six straight home games. They are 2 1/2 games behind the Angels in the West.

Hamilton's Struggles Reach Critical Level

As the year goes on it is starting to look more and more like it may well turn into a lost season for Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton.

Texas' 2-time All-Star is now 2 for his last 32 and is mired in what has been, for the most part, a season-long slump.

Hamilton has responded to the slump by watching more video and taking more batting practice but, for whatever reason, just cannot seem to regain neither the timing nor confidence he showed last season when he led the league in RBI.

"I think I've almost overanalyzed it all to a point," Hamilton said. "I was thinking too much and thinking I needed to get a hit because I hadn't gotten a hit in a while. When you do that, it just makes things worse. It's hard not to do, too, because it's only human. I just need to shut all the head games down by myself."

In last nights game with Detroit, manager Ron Washington dropped Hamilton from his customary 3rd spot in the order to 7th, trying to help take some of the self-inflicted pressure off Josh's shoulders. Hamilton wasn't able to respond, going 0-for-4 on the night.

"We're giving him a chance to gather himself," Washington said. "You'd be frustrated, too, if you had a vision of what you're capable of doing and you can't seem to put it together. We haven't given up on him, and we're not going to allow him to give up on himself."



Since returning from the DL on July 6th, Hamilton is hitting just .198 with one home run, two doubles and four RBI. For the season, he is hitting .223 with seven home runs and 28 RBIs.

Hamilton continues to work hard but seems unable to pinpoint the reasons behind the slump.

"If I knew what was wrong, I wouldn't be struggling," said Hamilton. "I think I went 0-for-22 in the minors one time, but then I proceeded to hit .468 in the playoffs."

The Rangers are hoping that with some time and patience a similar turnaround will take place.

"We need to give [Hamilton] a break," Washington said. "He's trying too hard. His timing isn't there and the only person that can fix that is him."

Easier said than done as, at least from his body language, Hamilton appears to have lost a good deal of confidence.

"He needs to be aggressive," Washington said. "Once he steps in that batter's box, he's all by himself."

Texas' Big Game Hunter Nets A Tiger

Forgive the title...I couldn't resist.

Tommy Hunter's second pitch of the game sailed off the bat of Tigers All-Star Curtis Granderson into the right field seats, giving Detroit the early 1-0 lead. From there, Hunter pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, striking out six.

"Good job by Tommy Hunter," manager Ron Washington said. "We knew he could handle the baseball and manipulate it. He's got four pitches."

The biggest moment of the night came in the top of the 5th when, with the bases loaded, Hunter threw a high fastball by Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera, ending the top half of the inning in dramatic fashion.

"I think it was a combination of he pitched very well and we didn't swing too well," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "We've done this for months, to be honest with you. We've swung at balls and taken strikes."

"I was trying to throw strikes," Hunter said. "I gotta minimize the damage. It was fun. That was fun, puts a smile on your face. It changed the game."

Hunter's assessment was right on the money as in the bottom of the 5th, Nelson Cruz pulled Texas even with a monster 542-foot solo homerun, the 5th longest homerun ever hit at the Ballpark in Arlington.



The Rangers continued their march to victory in the bottom of the 6th, getting a lead-off double by Elvis Andrus who scored on a single by Michael Young. After a David Murphy walk, Hank Blalock drove both men home with a double down the rightfield line, putitng Texas up 4-1.

Detroit pushed another run across in the top of the 8th but was answered in the bottom of the inning via Michael Young's 14th homerun of the year. For the night, Young had three base hits, the 3rd consecutive game he's accomplished that feat.

In the 9th, C.J. Wilson came on to strike out the side, picking up his 11th save of the season.

Tommy Hunter is now 3-1 with an ERA of 2.00. Offenses are hitting just over .200 against him.

The 5-2 win broke a string of seven straight loses to the Tigers.

"We had many opportunities to win against them in Detroit," Washington said. "Those guys don't quit. I remember four or five games in Detroit we would have won. They snatched them from us. Baseball does that."

The win give Texas a 33-19 record at home, 2nd best in team history and also moves them to 2 games behind the Angels in the AL West.

Rangers Win Series In Kansas City

Game two in Kansas City featured a pitcher still finding his way in his first big league season. Game three featured one who may have finally found himself.

On Saturday, Texas sent rookie Derek Holland to the mound and, much like he's done since coming up from AAA earlier in the year, mixed moments of greatness with a little too much inconsistency.

After going just 4 2/3 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 7 hits, Holland is now 1-5 with an ERA of 6.42 in nine starts.

"I saw fight," manager Ron Washington said. "But he still has to work on his commanding the baseball better. Derek had trouble trying to hit his spots from the beginning. He got through the first three [innings] but he still had trouble controlling the baseball."

The offense wasn't much better, scoring just 3 runs on 11 hits. Texas' 3 & 4 hitters, Josh Hamilton and Andruw Jones, went a combined 0-for-7 with 6 strikeouts. For the game, Texas struck out 13 times.

"When you strike out that many times, you're not putting much pressure on the defense," Washington said.

In the final game of the series, Dustin Nippert again showed that he may be finally reaching the level long expected of a player with his potential. Nippert, forced into the game after Kevin Millwood had to exit at the end of the 2nd inning with a strained left gluteus muscle, came up big for Texas, pitching 4 2/3 innings of one hit, one run relief, giving the stagnant offense just enough time to put a few runs on the board.



"I just go out there to throw strikes and keep us in the game," Nippert said. "Keep it close and help us win the game. Today I was able to keep the ball down and use all my pitches. I was throwing my changeup a lot and mixing speeds."

With the performance, Nippert picked up his 2nd win in 5 days, despite his offense doing everything in their power to prevent that. Luckily for him, the Royals defense proved slightly more inept that the Rangers hitting.

After being shut out for six innings by Kansas City starter and former Rangers reject Sidney Ponson, Texas finally got a bit of a rally started in the 7th inning as Andruw Jones banged a double of the wall in left field. A single by Nelson Cruz put runners on the corners with nobody out. Royals reliever Ron Mahay was replaced by Jamey Wright who promptly induced a groud ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia to first baseman Billy Butler who threw out Jones trying to score at home. With runners at first and second, Cruz then stole third, but Wright got a big strike out of Elvis Andrus for the second out of the inning.

That brought Ian Kinsler to the plate, who quickly swung at the first pitch he saw, popping the ball up high into the air on the right side of the infield. Luckily for Texas, Royals second baseman Alberto Callaspo had trouble locating the ball, making a last ditch running stab at it, dropping it on the right field grass. The error allowed Nelson Cruz to score and seemed to suck the life out of the Kansas City players. Michael Young and Marlon Byrd both singled home runs making it 3-0.

"It always takes the emotion out of you when you give up three unearned runs in one inning," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "That happens regardless of how you're going. But it happens even more so when you've only got a couple hits on the board and you're having a miserable time offensively."

Kansas City put a run on the board in the bottom of the 7th but it was quickly given back as Andruw Jones came up in the top of the 8th and hammered a homerun into the left field seats. Texas would add three more runs in the 8th, closing the Royals out with a 2-1 series win.

"It was a strange game," Young said. "The story of the game was Nip and the sun. We got the sun ball and after that we came alive. Give Ponson credit. He threw a really good game. He had a lot of life on his sinker down in the zone. We caught a big break in the seventh and took it over."

Greinke Tough But Feldman Comes Up Big As Rangers Shutout Royals

Scott Feldman has been saying all year that staff ace Kevin Millwood has set the bar pretty high for staying in games and chewing up innings. Feldman has been very effective this year for six innings but high pitch count and/or fatigue has prevented him from getting through the 7th. On Friday night, Feldman finally broke through that wall, deliving a masterful performance over eight innings in route to his 9th win of the season.

"I hope I can build on this and make it more of a regular thing getting us deeper in the game," Feldman said.



As good as Feldman was, allowing no runs while scattering just four hits over his eight innings, Royals ace Zack Greinke pitched quite a game as well. Greinke went seven innings, striking out ten while allowing just three hits. Unfortunately for the Royals, one of those hits was a solo homerun off the bat of Marlon Byrd.

"I know he wished that pitch was in a better spot," Byrd said. "That was something we needed, and Feldman took it from there."

Texas added an insurance run in the top of the 8th when Hank Blalock hit a long double to center field, scoring Marlon Byrd.

C.J. Wilson took over for Feldman in the 9th, closing Kansas City out, nabbing his 10th save of the year. But despite Wilson's dominant 9th, everyone was talking about Feldman's big night.

"He used his changeup more and had a nice little breaking ball going," catcher Taylor Teagarden said. "I figured Greinke was going to do his usual seven or eight innings and allow zero or one run. At the same time, I was expecting Feldman to do the same."

"For you to outpitch Zack [Greinke], you gotta throw pretty good," Royals catcher Brayan Pena said. "[Feldman] did a great job."

Ron Washington was also quick to praise his starter saying, "Feldman matched the best pitcher in baseball and threw an excellent ballgame."

The shutout was the 6th of the season for Rangers pitchers.