D

Kids Do Darndest Things as Texas Rangers Even Wild-Card Showdown with 7-2 Win Over Bosox

ARLINGTON - Little known record set at Rangers Ballpark on Saturday night: a sellout crowd of 48,201 took in a “futures” game.

An apt description for a 7-2 Rangers victory over Boston in which Julio Borbon and Elvis Andrus raced around the bases like kids on a playground. (You can’t catch me!) Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz hit the target like the dunking booth at the fair. Quarterbacked by Taylor Teagarden, the greybeard of the Rangers rookies at 25, who will step in behind the plate for most of the next two weeks and maybe longer.

Thanks in great measure to the youngsters, the Rangers pulled back within one-half game of the Red Sox in the wild-card race. “We’re not afraid to bring our young kids up here and let ‘em play,” manager Ron Washington said. “I think the whole organization gets a pat on the back for that.”

Nominations are now open for a clever nickname for Borbon and Andrus, who hit “together” in a Texas lineup for the first time – Borbon leading off and Andrus as usual ninth. They combined for seven hits, five runs, two RBIs and seven of the club’s record eight steals.

Borbon and Andrus hit one-two for the better part of two months last season at Double-A Frisco. Saturday night was like dusting off their old game. The eight steals increased Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek’s major league leading total of thefts allowed this season to 92.

“I had an idea pretty much of the things we’d be able to accomplish once we’re hitting behind each other,” said Borbon, most recently recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma nine days ago to replace the injured Nelson Cruz. “It was definitely a special night for both of us.”

Borbon went 4-for-5 with four steals, skyrocketing his batting average in limited exposure from .231 to .389. His assignment to the leadoff spot bumped Ian Kinsler, who has led off all of this season and last, to No. 6 in his return from the disabled list. In his first at-bat, Kinsler led off (the second inning) with his second opposite field home run of the season. He also walked, hit an opposite field single and was nailed in the left ear flap by a fastball from reliever Fernando Cabrera in the eighth inning. Earlier, a high fastball sailed in near Kinsler’s head.

So when Neftali Feliz’s Arlington debut continued from the eighth inning into the ninth, he was first warned (in Spanish) by home plate umpire Angel Hernandez not to retaliate. Feliz earned his first save of the season at any level by retiring six of seven batters. (The RedHawks were just getting ready to put him in his first save situation when he was summoned.) Of the 29 batters that he has faced in two weeks as a Ranger, two have reached and 16 have fanned.

At 21 years and 105 days old, Feliz became the youngest Ranger to earn a save. Rick Waits (21 and 125) surrenders a mark that he held since September 1973.

It’s good to know Feliz said he’s a little surprised to be pitching this effectively this early in his big-league career. Said Teagarden: “His poise is way beyond what I expected. I don’t have to say much to him.”

Holland’s milestone for the evening was earning wins in consecutive starts for the first time as a Ranger. He limited Boston to two runs (on solo home runs) over 6.2 innings. This win followed his first major league shutout last Sunday in Anaheim and came against the club that chased him after 4.2 innings 10 weeks ago at Fenway.

“I didn’t really let too much get to me,” Holland said. “It was a big game for us. We’re chasing them, and we’re also chasing the Angels. So I just tried to stay focused.”

Teagarden on Holland: “They jumped on a couple heaters that got a little bit over the plate. Other than that, he was striking guys out when he needed to. Making pitches when guys were on base.”

Teagarden will probably come right back and start Sunday’s 1 p.m. series rubber game with Jarrod Saltalamacchia placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday and possibly missing the rest of the season if surgery is needed to repair his ailing shoulder and arm.

Washington sat Teagarden down and emphasized what the club expects from him for at least the next two weeks. Teagarden anticipates a rotation of three games played followed by a day off. His back-up is currently Oklahoma call-up Kevin Richardson, who has never played a major league game.

“I’ve got to take care of my body, maybe rest a little more as far as what I’m doing outside the games,” said Teagarden, still a rookie with only 32 days of MLB service time from last season. “I’ve got to make sure that I don’t get thrown out of games, stay as healthy as I can. I’ve got to manage myself. These pitchers are relying on me.”

Washington has said Kinsler will return to the top spot against lefties and against righties after Cruz returns. Neither of those events will happen Sunday, when Dustin Nippert is scheduled to face 23-year-old righty Junichi Tazawa and the Rangers try to end the season series with seven wins in nine games. It has been 17 years since Texas has won that many games against Boston.

So, same lineup on Sunday?

Washington grinned: “I think so.”