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.

Texas Locates The Missing Offense, Hammers The Padres

On a night when starter Kevin Millwood claimed to have, "the worst stuff I've had all year", the offense decided to break out the bats and give him more than enough support to notch his 8th win of the year.

"My fastball and location weren't very good," said Millwood, who hit two batters and walked three while battling for six tough innings. "It feels good to win, but I wanted to go deeper in the game and give the bullpen a break."

The bullpen was up to the task, however, as Jason Grilli, Willie Eyre & Doug Mathis each pitched an inning of hitless, scoreless baseball.



The offense appears to have found a bit of it's old spark, scoring runs in the first innings, giving Millwood plenty of room to breathe.

David Murphy had another big game, hitting a 3-run blast in the 2nd inning. Chris Davis also kept his hot hitting going, going 1-for-3 with a walk.

On the whole, Texas pounded out 13 hits and worked 6 walks, putting 12 runs on the board.

Kevin Millwood feels good about the 3-game winning streak saying, "It seems like we're getting back on track."

Before the season began, everyone seemed to think the pitching would be the key to Texas taking the next step. Suprisingly, it's been the pitching that has carried the heaviest load. It not appears as though it is the offense that will need to show better consistency if the Rangers are to truly make a run at the AL West.

Third baseman Michael Young thinks the offense will get things figured out.

"There's not a magic formula," Young said. "We're a confident group of guys. We're focused on having good at-bats, whether it's a two-pitch at-bat or if we work the count a little."

Rangers Struggle Against NL's Best

With the Los Angeles Dodgers coming to town for a 2-game set, Texas looked to measure themselves against the National League's best.

In game one of the series, Vicente Padilla worked out of a few jams, pitching five innings of shutout ball, setting the tone for the night.

"Padilla attacked the zone and kept guys off balance with off-speed stuff," Dodgers centre fielder Matt Kemp said.

The trio of Padilla, Jason Jennings, and the newly acquired Jason Grilli controlled the Dodgers, blanking them 6-0, Texas' 2nd consecutive shutout.

Texas also showed a little offense for the first time in several games, getting an RBI single from Michael Young and a 2-run blast from Hank Blalock, both of whom had been struggling at the plate.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In game two of the series, both Scott Feldman and Dodgers starter Randy Wolf were mowing hitters down, both of them pitching five shutout innings. But an issues with the stadium lights forced a 1 hour and 41 minute delay, forcing both pitchers from the game.

L.A. manufactured a run in the top of the 6th which was match by a big, opposite field homerun by Andruw Jones. But in the 7th, with Jason Grilli on the mound, Matt Kemp hit a big 2-run blast, giving the Dodgers the lead and, ultimately, the victory.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the rubber match of the series, Derek Holland looked very much like a rookie pitcher, walking four and allowing four earned runs over five innings pitched, including a 3-run homerun by Casey Blake. 72% of Holland's pitches were fastballs and Los Angeles took advantage, making solid contact.



Holland is 0-3 with a 7.08 ERA after four starts for the Rangers.

The Rangers offense again appeared disjointed and out of sync, scattering just six basehits over nine innings. The group of Kinsler, Murphy, Byrd, & Andrus went a combined 0-for-13 with two strikeouts.

Texas has now lost 8 of their last 13 games and are averaging 3.3 runs per game during that stretch.

Michael Young says there's nothing to worry about.

"There's nothing in here that says anybody is going to panic with our offense," said Young. "We're a confident group we can make adjustments."

Texas has a day off tomorrow to regroup before hosting the Houston Astros for a 3-game set.