Home Sweet … Texas Rangers Start Season’s Longest Homestand On A Sour Note Vs. Jays

D-tails: Blue Jays 6, Rangers 3
• Boxscore, Standings, Depot game blog
• Medical news: Hamilton to have surgery; McCarthy to DL
• Washington’s 2010 option picked up

ARLINGTON - Whew. Done with the Yankees and Red Sox on the road for awhile. Whew. Starting a 10-game homestand with four against the Blue Jays, losers of nine straight on the road, and not facing Roy Halladay. Now, that’s timing.

But timing worked against the Rangers on Monday night and helped result in a 6-3 loss to Toronto. The only two walks allowed by Scott Feldman scored. At the plate, the Rangers only began to do much of their hitting with two out and finished 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

“Nothing that we didn’t do except get some two-out knocks,” manager Ron Washington said. “They’re not easy to get.”

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Post-Game Show: Blue Jays 6, Rangers 3

Three Up & Three Down from Rangers Ballpark in Arlington following the Rangers’ 6-3 loss to Toronto

Three Up
• OF David Murphy continues his resurgence. He had doubles in each of his first two at-bats and is hitting .323 since he began the season 0-for-23.
• RHP Jason Jennings was outstanding for two innings, but was asked to start a third because of the Rangers’ limited bullpen options due to Frank Francisco’s unavailability. The Rangers have found a role for Jennings: He needs to start innings, not enter with men on base, and pitch no more than two innings.
• This space available.

Three Down
• SS Elvis Andrus, the Rangers best situational hitter, did not get the bat on the ball on a squeeze play. That was a deadly mistake.
• Injury news abounds. CF Josh Hamilton will miss a month to six weeks, RHP Brandon McCarthy will be out at least a month with a stress fracture in his right scapula. Still no sign of RHP Frank Francisco.
• Including the Rangers, there are six AL teams with winning records. The Rangers are 8-14 against the other five.

Depot: Live Game Blog, News, Notes

5:06: Lots O’news from Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Rangers pick up the 2010 option on manager Ron Washington’s contract. … CF Josh Hamilton to have surgery, miss at least four weeks. … And RHP Brandon McCarthy is headed for the DL with a stress fracture in his right scapula. But besides that stuff, there really isn’t much going on.

5:11: Home Run Pool is Open. Jump on in.

7:28: Lyle Overbay has 14-game hitting streak now. This was said basically to let you know I’m here. Between the TV gig and the press buffet, life can get a little hectic.

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Brandon McCarthy To DL With Stress Fracture In Right Scapula

Brandon McCarthy has a stress fracture in his right scapula, a similar injury to the one that knocked him out for a month in the second half of the 2007 season. After he struggled against New York last week, McCarthy complained of the sore shoulder. An MRI on Monday revealed the stress fracture. McCarthy is going to be out a while. GM Jon Daniels said it would probably be “several weeks” before McCarthy picks up a ball.

If RHP Doug Mathis is not needed out of the bullpen tonight, he will start on Tuesday. If the Rangers do need to use Mathis tonight, RHP Guillermo Moscoso would be the likely callup. Moscoso has been scratched from his scheduled start at Triple-A Oklahoma City tonight as a precaution. RHP Tommy Hunter is currently scheduled to pitch for Oklahoma City tomorrow and could also be an option.

Home Run Pool: It’s Where Amazing Happens

Rangers lineup vs. Toronto RHP Casey Jansen:

2B Ian Kinsler, 3B Michael Young, DH Hank Blalock, RF Nelson Cruz, LF David Murphy, CF Marlon Byrd, 1B Chris Davis, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Elvis Andrus and pitching for the Rangers … RHP Scott Feldman, trying to run his record to 6-0.

Now, before you leave the office, make sure you stop by the pool.

Rangers Outfielder Josh Hamilton To Undergo Surgery Tuesday, Out At Least Four More Weeks

• Also: RHP Frank Francisco still iffy; minor leaguer suspended after arrest for rape.

ARLINGTON – Rangers GM Jon Daniels said Monday that CF Josh Hamilton will undergo a surgical procedure on Tuesday in Philadelphia to repair a partial tear of his abdominal muscle and will miss at least four more weeks.

Hamilton agreed to undergo the procedure after meeting with Philadelphia-based surgeon Dr. William Meyer, who has had success with quick recoveries for a less-invasive procedure than typical hernia repair. In a traditional hernia operation, a mesh is stretched across the herniated area and then “tacked” to the abdominal wall. That procedure usually requires eight to 10 weeks of recovery. In Dr. Meyer’s procedure, the area is essentially sutured up. Dr. Meyer has performed this surgery on Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb and former baseball player Trot Nixon.

“Given what it could have been, this is certainly better than that,” Daniels said.

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Rangers To Pick Up Option On Manager Ron Washington’s Contract

UPDATED: At 3 p.m.

ARLINGTON - The Rangers will officially pick up the option for 2010 on the contract of manager Ron Washington through 2010 at a press conference at 3:30 this afternoon.

From the club press release:

“This was an easy decision”, said General Manager Jon Daniels. “We’re excited about the direction the club is going under Ron’s leadership and we look forward to a long, productive relationship with him as our manager.”

As we noted more than a week ago, Washington has the best winning percentage among any of the first-year managers who were hired for the 2007 season. Washington’s record is now 187-193 (.492). The updated chart is at the bottom of the jump.

It simply is another eventful day in what has already been a very eventful month of June for the club.

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Fieldtrip To Fenway

Writing a review of my first trip to Fenway this weekend would be like asking young Bob Sturm to write a review of The Empire Strike Back, or college-age Bob Sturm writing a review of Achtung, Baby.

What, did you think I was going to rip it?

The fact is, this sports weekend, which required no missed days of work, was a perfect 10 of 10. When you are a husband/father you don’t have an open calendar to come and go as you please, so therefore you must make these very rare “guy-trip” weekends count. And, to see two games at Fenway Park inside one of the most beautiful weather weekends in a city that I absolutely loved was setting the bar very high for future trips of the type.

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Road To Arlington: Rangers Minor League Report (6/8)

Triple-A: Oklahoma City 10 @ Albuquerque 7 (10 Innings)

CF Julio Borbon (.298 / .357 / .368) capped a 3-for-5 outing with a game-winning RBI double and then scored from second base on a wild pitch (he’s sorta fast) to give the RedHawks a victory in extra innings.

RHP Josh Rupe (7.18 ERA) enjoyed his finest outing since returning to action as a starter, limiting the Isotopes to three runs on eight hits and a walk, fanning five in six innings. RHP Warner Madrigal 1-0; 1.40) was perfect over the final two innings, striking out three to earn the victory.

Borbon drove in three runs and LF Steve Murphy (.318 / .388 / .568) went 4-for-5 with a double and a triple to drive in one and 2B Jose Vallejo (.289 / .352 / .373) went 2-for-5 with a double.

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