Post-Game Show: Rangers 7, Red Sox 2

D-tails
• Boxscore, AL West standings, Wild Card standings

Story Of The Game
After what could have been the most demoralizing loss of the season, the Rangers responded with an energetic offense that produced a club-record eight stolen bases. Leadoff hitter LF Julio Borbon stole four, SS Elvis Andrus three and 2B Ian Kinsler one. Four of the steals were instrumental in Rangers runs. The win moved the Rangers back within a half-game of Boston in the AL Wild Card race. A win in Sunday’s series finale (1:05 p.m. CDT) would give the Rangers the Wild Card lead.

The shuffling of the lineup – with Borbon at the top and Kinsler in the No. 6 spot – also worked out well. Borbon had four singles in five at-bats, while Kinsler reached base four times in five plate appearances. Kinsler’s homer to lead off the second inning gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Borbon singled home Andrus, who had tripled past a confused Boston outfield.

“You look at the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays and there were a lot of times when people thought they were about to go away,” said CF Marlon Byrd. “But they never did. They just kept coming back and playing with energy. That’s what we are doing. After last night, nobody was up tight. Nobody was acting like it was a big deal. Last year, we had a game against Boston where we came back from a big deficit and lost and afterward it kind of took the wind out of our sails. That didn’t happen this time.”

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The Depot: Rangers-Red Sox Live Game Blog, News, Notes And Rejuvenating New Age Music

6:30: The Home Run Pool is open, but there is no lifeguard on duty. However, the lineup is here. Although Ian Kinsler isn’t sure who is writing it out.

7:18: C Jarrod Saltalamacchia saw vascular specialist Dr. Greg Pearl before today’s game, but there has been no further update to his status beyond “shoulder fatigue.” Among Pearl’s specialties are Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS)repair. He removed a rib to alleviate pressure on an artery in LHP Matt Harrison’s shoulder earlier in the season. Daniels said he could not comment on whether the Rangers suspected TOS as the root of Saltalamacchia’s recent arm issues. One of the symptoms, however, is numbness in the hand or arm. Saltalamacchia left Friday’s game with numbness in his hand.

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Rangers Drop Ian Kinsler from Leadoff Spot to Sixth

ARLINGTON – The Rangers – acting as an organization – dropped 2B Ian Kinsler out of the leadoff spot Saturday, at least temporarily.

Kinsler, who returned from the DL on Friday, found himself in the No. 6 spot in the lineup for his first start back on the active roster. It’s the first time he’s started anywhere other than the leadoff spot since the end of the 2007 season. Kinsler had little public reaction to the move, saying “it is what it is.”  When asked how he reacted to  manager Ron Washington’s decision in a brief meeting with the manager, Kinsler said Washington informed him it wasn’t his decision.

“So, after that, I really didn’t have anything to say to him about it,” Kinsler said.

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Rangers News: Salty to DL, Kinsler Hitting Sixth

UPDATED, 4:03: Correct lineup with Marlon Byrd playing, Andruw Jones sitting.

ARLINGTON – The Rangers have placed C Jarrod Saltalamacchia on the disabled list with a yet-to-be-announced injury. Saltalamacchia left Friday’s game with numbness in his right hand. It’s the second game he’s left with an arm-related injury in the last two weeks.

To replace him on the roster, the Rangers purchased the contract of C Kevin Richardson, who last night caught RHP Luis Mendoza’s no-hitter for Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Also of significance: 2B Ian Kinsler is not hitting leadoff in his first game back. LF Julio Borbon is hitting first with Kinsler batting sixth. It’s the first time Kinsler has not hit leadoff since 2007. Here’s the full lineup:

LF Julio Borbon, 3B Michael Young, RF David Murphy, CF Marlon Byrd, DH Josh Hamilton, 2B Ian Kinsler, 1B Hank Blalock, C Taylor Teagarden, SS Elvis Andrus and pitching for the Rangers. … LHP Derek Holland.

Home Run Pool Therapy

I believe it was in the New England Journal of Medicine, that a study showed participating in a Home Run Pool can lift the spirits of those depressed by horrific losses. Or maybe it was Maxim. I don’t know. But the best way to get over yesterday, I’m sure, is to start focusing on today. Aren’t I the little beacon of sunshine?

So, here you go. Get started on your homer pool entries. The full lineup, which should include 2B Ian Kinsler again, will be up as soon as I get to the little old clubhouse.

How do the Rangers Deal with Bullpen Distress in the Middle of a Pennant Race? Very, Very Carefully

In a pennant race, there are few worse concerns than bullpen distress.

And, now, right smack in the thick of a race for the first playoff trip in 10 years, the question arises: Do the Rangers have a legitimate concern on their hands?

In the last 12 days, the Rangers have six losses. Three of them can be tied directly to bullpen failures. LHP Eddie Guardado has surrendered momentum-changing homers in each of his last two outings over the last week. LHP C.J. Wilson, who had done a fine job as the fill-in closer, got a little too fancy with his pitch selection and lost a two-run, ninth-inning lead at Oakland at the start of the just-completed road trip.

And then there was Friday night. If Wilson had an old-fashioned meltdown 10 days ago, what happened to RHP Frank Francisco could only be described in nuclear terms. Handed a 4-2 lead, needing three outs to give the Rangers the wild card lead and given the benefit of one of the most amazing defensive recoveries ever seen in Arlington in the middle of the inning, Francisco still imploded. David Murphy nearly rescued Francisco by crashing into the wall to chase a ball, fielding the ball as it bounced away from the wall and throwing to Michael Young. Young, momentarily stunned by a logjam of Red Sox on the base paths, still was able to throw home to Taylor Teagarden, who made his own nice contribution by tagging pinch runner Clay Buchholz. And it still wasn’t enough.

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It Felt Like Red October, and Red Sox Taught Texas Rangers What Knockout Blow Feels Like

ARLINGTON - Michael Young, club conscience, stood at his locker late Friday night and indicated the Rangers would again discard a tough loss like yesterday’s trash: “I don’t sit here and pout over this game.”

Rangers fans have six weeks to see if Friday night’s 8-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox can be filed away as just another game. They’ll see if their team, considered a late-season heavyweight for the first time in a decade, can take a punch from a playoff veteran. One pitch away from snatching the Sox’s position atop the wild-card standings, the Rangers stood flatfooted and took the full force of a six-run uppercut in the top of the ninth inning.

“There was definitely a lot of energy out there, which is exactly what we wanted coming out of spring training,” Rangers starter Kevin Millwood said. “We were right there.”

Almost there.

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Road To Arlington: Rangers Farm Report (8/15)

Luis Mendoza threw one inning in Arlington this year, way back on May 2. He entered in the 6th inning of a game against the Chicago White Sox with the Rangers ahead 9-1. After retiring the first two batters he faced, Mendoza allowed a single, a hit batter, a walk, and an AJ Pierzynski grand slam. The 36.00 ERA he left the game with stands today, as he was optioned to Oklahoma City four days after his outing and hasn’t been called back up. For his career, Mendoza owns a 7.73 ERA at the ML level. His numbers this season at triple-A have been solid but unspectacular, and at 25-years-old, he’s nearing an age where he might be starting to outgrow the term “prospect.”

But none of that mattered last night. Mendoza’s final line against the Salt Lake Bees: nine innings, six walks, zero runs, zero hits. (more…)

DL for Rangers Jarrod Saltalamacchia?

ARLINGTON – The second incidence of arm-related troubles in two weeks for C Jarrod Saltalamacchia is likely to land him on the disabled list.

But the Rangers still don’t have any answers for what caused something described as “arm fatigue” last week and numbness in his right hand on Friday. Saltalamacchia left Friday’s 8-4 loss to Boston after complaining of numbness. He had trouble throwing the ball back to pitcher Kevin Millwood on several occasions early in the game. He’s had problems with that seemingly simple task at different times over the last six weeks.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” Saltalamacchia said after the game. “I don’t want to hurt the team, but I want to play and help.”

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