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Depot: Live Rangers-Dodgers Blog, News And Notes

7:00: With SS Omar Vizquel one hit shy of tying the record for career major league hits by a Venezuelan native, Ron Washington said he wants Vizquel to break the record in Arlington and penciled him in tonight. Washington said he plans to start Vizquel once in next week’s homestand-ending series against Houston if he’s still short of the mark, before the Rangers head off to San Francisco and Arizona. (Becca has already picked tonight in her Vizquel Pool.)

Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw from Highland Park is scheduled to pitch Tuesday at home against Oakland. He said there’s an upside to the downtime, he said: “I get to hang out a little bit more.” Had plenty of folks over Thursday night and reserved 15 tickets for Friday’s game. He’s 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA, got popped last time out against San Diego – 2.2 innings with five hits and four walks.

Dodgers pitching coach, famed former Ranger Rick Honeycutt, said all the expected things about the 21-year-old Kershaw: “If there’s one thing, that’s been a little inconsistent. But you still see great things, positive upside. On-the-job training type thing. He’s got electric stuff. It’s coming down to command a lot of times.”

Kershaw didn’t think his teammates were going to welcome tonight’s temperatures in the 90′s: “They complain about the L.A. weather. Like, ‘You’d better get ready.’ ”

7:42: Byrd, he of the two-out triple in the second, has hit safely in 13 of his last 16 home games.

7:57: Padilla rarely puts himself in the position of a sympathetic figure. But after two up and two down, Orlando Hudson’s single off the first base bag made Vinny struggle more than he deserved. Ended with 67 pitches.

8:10: The Michael Young RBI single snapped an 0-for-17 streak for him.

8:23: For followers of the shutdown inning, Padilla used 19 pitches but got it done. (By the way, the sky to the north doesn’t look good.)

8:30: Lightning (following another opposite-field C.Davis hit?) and a rainbow and the Rangers need three outs for an official game.

8:38: Wind really blowing in hard from the south. Would take Ruthian effort to hit one to right.

8:51: Maybe the last meteorological note, but what looked as bright as a fire over the north stands 10 minutes ago is now dark in all directions.

8:52: Padilla done after five scoreless and 108 pitches. Enter Jason Jennings.

9:08: Kuroda exits having allowed eight hits in 5.1 innings. In his previous 11 innings against the Diamondbacks and Phillies after returning from the DL, he gave up only five total.

9:22: Teagarden has hit safely in seven of his last 10 games. After he caught Padilla’s win last Sunday in Boston and started tonight, Washington has maintained Teagarden isn’t Padilla’s current personal catcher. Even after Matt Harrison’s return next week, maybe he should start more than once every five games.

9:35: (Brief NHL interlude as the Penguins celebrate: what if Pittsburgh hadn’t won its last three while Philadelphia dropped two of three, pushing the Pens into fourth in the East and home ice in their series?)

9:39: Following Angels closed-door meeting following latest loss, LAA comes out and scores first in the first at home against the Padres.

9:43: In the ninth, the Rangers will be going for back-to-back home shutouts in the same homestand for the first time at The Ballpark and for the first time since 1981. On a couple of occasions, they’ve had a shutout, gone on the road, come home and added a second.

9:49: Jennings has thrown 47 pitches. Jason Grilli has warmed up but now is standing but not throwing.

9:58: Grilli in.

10:07: Another blanking to the delight of 36,591, and Padilla has won four of his last five starts, sandwiched by the unsightly outing at Yankee Stadium.