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Minus No. 91, Dallas Stars’ 9-1-1 Call Gets Spotty Response in 4-1 Loss to Los Angeles Kings

DALLAS – In Monday night’s 4-1 loss to Los Angeles, the Stars missed Brad Richards. All of them. The shooter. A point man on their top power play. Dependable in the face-off circle. Without him … them … an already depleted Stars team was reduced to a one-line offense outdone by the Kings’ one-line offense. And that was enough to lose to a flu-ridden opponent dragging in a three-game losing streak and playing its sixth consecutive road game over 10 days.

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Texas Rangers Say: Nice to See You Again, Josh Hamilton

ARLINGTON – Since Ernie “Let’s Play Two!” Banks retired, finding players who are fond of doubleheaders is a monumental task.

Rangers OF Josh Hamilton might be the exception.

A long day at Rangers Ballpark Tuesday might just have helped him unlock the mysteries of a home run swing that has deserted him for much of this injury-plagued season. After a hitless first at-game, Hamilton homered in consecutive at-bats in the second.

They were his first homers since August 7. He had only two homers since May 25, a span of 57 games.

“I was just happy I remembered how to jog around the bases,” Hamilton said after the second of a pair of 5-2 wins over Toronto. “But really, it was a sense of relief to hit one again. I was kidding around with a lot of teammates afterward.  [Nelson Cruz] asked me if I wanted him to go get the ball for me. Guys had been kidding me about having batting practice pop, but not having any more game pop. As much of a relief as this was for me, I think it was a relief for them, too.”

No kidding.

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Post-Game Show: Rangers 7, Yankees 2

D-tails
• Boxscore, AL West Standings, AL Wild Card Standings
• Rangers cut ties with RHP Jason Jennings

Story of the Game

Sometimes the middle comes early.

On Thursday, the same day the Rangers cut ties with their primary middle man for the first half of the season, the Rangers needed the middle of their bullpen in the fourth inning to preserve a slim lead. RHP Jason Grilli, who hadn’t retired a batter in his first two outings after coming off the DL, entered with a one-run lead and two men on base. He proceeded to use an old trick on Alex Rodriguez – a slider that Rodriguez has never had much success against – to get the last out of the inning. Rodriguez is now 0-for-5 in his career against Grilli.

He followed it up with two more perfect innings to hand the lead, which had grown to four runs, to the back end of the bullpen. LHP C.J. Wilson pitched around a spot of trouble in the seventh by striking out Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher in succession and then added a perfect eighth. Rather than take chances, manager Ron Washington turned a five-run lead over to RHP Frank Francisco in the ninth.

“You have to pitch to beat these guys and our bullpen did a great job,” manager Ron Washington said. “Jason got us to the back of the bullpen so we could set things up the way we wanted. It was huge because we needed that out and then he gave us two more efficient innings.”

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About Last Night: Looking Back at Texas Rangers Wild 10-9 Win over the New York Yankees

NEW YORK - Really no idea where to begin breaking down last night’s game, so we might as well start at the end.

In theory, manager Ron Washington made the prudent – or safe – call in turning a five-run ninth-inning lead over to RHP Jason Grilli. It was not a save situation and Washington was trying to keep his bullpen in order to give him the best shot at winning more than just one game in the series.

That said, don’t expect to see anybody other than RHP Frank Francisco or LHP C.J. Wilson in to start the ninth unless the Rangers lead is double digits.

Washington’s mode of operation this year has been to go to his closers when there is a game to be won, regardless of score. It’s why Francisco got up with a six-run lead in Seattle back in May and entered the game with one out and a five-run lead – right before he went on the DL for the first time. And if he had it to do all over, Washington would have started the ninth with Francisco on the mound Tuesday.

“I was hoping I didn’t have to go to Francisco,” Washington said after the game. “But I learned a lesson tonight. I’m going to stick to my guns no matter what. I thought Grilli had had a chance to get us through the inning; he throw a good slider to [Johnny] Damon, but he got enough of it for a single and then he walked the next guy.”

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Flying Dutchman: Derek Holland Clips Angels As Rangers Move Into Tie For Wild Card Lead

• Post-Game Show (with new format)

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The live fastball made LHP Derek Holland a great prospect. The secondary stuff is what can make him a great major leauger.

On Sunday, 12 starts into his major league career, Holland demonstrated his understanding of that. He plowed fastballs right by the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels for as long as they were willing to sit there and watch them. And when they started gearing up to swing early, Holland trusted his slider and changeup to help him take advantage of the Angels’ eagerness.

The result was a masterpiece. On the way to a 7-0 complete game win that moved the Rangers within 3.5 games of the Angels and into a tie for the wild card lead, Holland took a no-hitter to the sixth inning. When Maicer Izturis broke it up with a solid single up the middle, the 22-year-0ld Holland stayed calm and struck out Erick Aybar to end the inning. Holland needed just 96 pitches to become the youngest lefty in Rangers history to throw a shutout. His pitch total was the third-lowest in a shutout by a Rangers pitcher since pitch-count stats were first officially recorded in 1988.

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Texas Rangers Benefit From Andrus’ Mind Games

ARLINGTON - On the day the Cowboys arrived at training camp, the explanation for Elvis Andrus’ recent hitting resurgence harkens back to the performance of 1974 Cowboys rookie quarterback Clint Longley.

The “Mad Bomber” came off the bench for the first time ever and rallied Dallas past Washington on Thanksgiving Day, prompting guard Blaine Nye to call his unlikely heroics “the triumph of an uncluttered mind.” Likewise, the Rangers’ rookie shortstop said he has stopped thinking at the plate. He hit his first bomb since late May in his first three-hit game since early May in Tuesday night’s 7-3 victory over Detroit. Also got picked off first and ended up on third.

Likewise, the Rangers are trying not to think too much about pulling within 1.5 games of Boston in the A.L. wild-card race and staying within two games of Los Angeles in the West. They have won eight of nine for the first time since mid-May and have clinched their third consecutive winning series.

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Rangers-Tigers Exchange Some Questionable Pitches, Some Choice Words Tuesday Night

ARLINGTON – Born in Michigan to a father who played for the Tigers, Jason Grilli has pitched more games for that franchise than anybody else during his career. Detroit’s decision to turn him into a reliever revived his career. He went to a World Series there.

He really enjoyed his time there. Really.

So just how does he keep ending up in these brouhahas with Tigers and especially manager Jim Leyland?

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Elvis’ Bunt Leaves Red Sox All Shook Up

• Miller: Lots of unusual moments add up to unusual sweep
• Ron Washington: “Can’t imagine a team playing three better games.”

ARLINGTON - The highlight-worthy defense isn’t the first thing Rangers manager Ron Washington usually cites when praisinEg rookie SS Elvis Andrus.

It’s his ability to learn from mistakes and not repeat them.

The biggest offensive moment in Wednesday’s 3-1 sweep-clinching win over Boston was an action-packed example. In a one-run game, Andrus squared around and dropped a perfect squeeze bunt into the vortex between the pitchers mound and first base. Fluish David Murphy, who broke from third on the pitch, scored the third run of the game and Andrus reached first, leaving the normally sound Red Sox looking sloppy and exhilirating the crowd of 39,778 at Rangers Ballpark. For the rest of the evening, the rather substantial number of Red Sox fans in attendance were never heard from again. For that matter, neither were the Red Sox.

Such is the power of a well-executed fundamental play in a tense, tight game.

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The Short, Sweet Version: Rangers Manager Ron Washington Wraps Up Sweep Of Boston Succintly

ARLINGTON - There are times when Rangers manager Ron Washington fumbles for the words he wants to use to describe the way his team is playing.

Wednesday night was not one of those nights.

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Michael Young, Rangers Offense Keep Things Simple In Toppling Boston’s John Smoltz, 6-3

ARLINGTON - Before every series, the Rangers hitters and instructor Rudy Jaramillo gather in a meeting room to go over scouting reports on the upcoming pitchers, exchange ideas and formulate a plan.

On Monday, they encountered a strange problem in trying to size up John Smoltz. Never before had they run into an opponent they knew so much about, but knew so little about how to approach. Smoltz has pitched in the majors 21 years, but had never started a game against the Rangers. Even though Smoltz began his big league career a month before Elvis Andrus was born and even he appeared in four of Atlanta’s 12 games against the Braves over the last decade, only two Rangers – Marlon Byrd and Omar Vizquel – had ever faced him.

Not a lot to go on.

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Texas Rangers Return From Break, And Vicente Padilla Can’t Get One In 5-3 Loss To Twins

• Box score • Standings • Evan’s in-game blog

ARLINGTON - Sympathetic figure isn’t a role that Vicente Padilla has played often in his four years as a member of the Rangers’ cast. More often stewing and stalling with an appetite for plunking, he has evoked ill will from opponents and occasionally teammates.

But in the wake of Friday night’s 5-3 Rangers loss to Minnesota, he could have gotten down on one knee and yelled, “Why me, Lord?” Or at least directed that plea to home plate umpire Jim Wolf.

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Kevin Millwood On Entering The Seventh: “I Felt As Strong As I Had All Night”

SEATTLE – In a tie game, squaring off against a starter with one of the 10 best ERAs in the AL, Rangers RHP Kevin Millwood carried a heavy load through six innings Saturday night.

And then without retiring another batter, Millwood allowed a single, a homer to a light-hitting backup catcher, and a double to Seattle’s new third baseman, who had joined the club less than two hours before Seattle’s 4-1 win that dumped the Rangers out of first place in the AL West.

At first glance, Millwood displayed all the signs of a pitcher who simply hit a wall on a surprisingly humid night.

Millwood’s response: Puh-leeeze.

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Rangers Take Cruz Around Seattle In 6-4 Win

SEATTLE - Before Friday’s game, Nelson Cruz was informed he’d been added to the AL All-Star team. After it, he found out Major League Baseball officials had contacted his agent to see if he might be interested in joining the Home Run Derby.

Nice moments, both, but neither compared to finally getting back in the Rangers lineup.

“I think I was more excited about getting to play than making the All-Star Game,” Cruz said after hitting a key homer in the Rangers 6-4 win over Seattle. “I’m here to play. I want to play everyday. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t play four days in a row.”

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About Last Night: Michael Young Takes Blame for Botched Double Steal In Rangers 3-1 Loss At Seattle

SEATTLE - Manager Ron Washington said Felix Hernandez was as good as he’s ever seen him on Thursday night, which is why the Rangers tried to steal an extra run in the sixth inning. Having runners with decent speed on the corners, two outs and two strikes on Andruw Jones, it seemed like the perfect situation to create something and maybe even rattle Hernandez in the process.

That’s why Washington put on a sign for a delayed double steal with Josh Hamilton taking off from first and Michael Young then breaking for home. The play is supposed to work like this: Hamilton breaks on the pitch; as soon as the catcher cocks his arm to throw to second, Young breaks for home. Young beats throw home and scores run. If Hamilton gets caught in a rundown, so be it.

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Power Ranger: Andruw Jones Delivers Three Homers As Rangers Pound Angels, Recapture First

•  Is it possible for Rangers to get involved with Roy Halladay?

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Never let it be said that Andruw Jones doesn’t understand his role.

Upon scanning the lineup Wednesday night and seeing his name in it for the third straight game and the fifth in the last six, the guy who was signed as a part-timer leaned over and whispered with a smile: “You know, I’m playing entirely too much.”

Not if he keeps this up.

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More About Last Night: Why Derek Holland Pitched And Why He Came Out When He Did

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Rangers made two decisions in Tuesday’s come-from-behind 8-5 win over Los Angeles that seemed to caused lots of internet chatter. They were:

• The decision to pitch LHP Derek Holland in the first place.

• And then the decision to pull Holland out when he was pitching so well.

Turns out there was plenty of thought on both decisions and plenty of logic behind those thoughts.

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Rangers Take The Fifth: Six-Run, Two-Out Rally Leads To Win Over Angels, Tie For West Lead

ANAHEIM, Calif. – His first two at-bats Tuesday looked like failed bits, a pair of strikeouts against John Lackey that made Andruw Jones 0-for-5 since taking over in the cleanup spot.

Rangers manager Ron Washington had another opinion. He called the first two at-bats “homework.” And by the third time around, it was Jones who was handing out the lessons.

He jumped all over a first-pitch curveball from Lackey, drove it into the fake rock formation behind center field, erased a three-run deficit and put the Rangers on the way to a six-run inning in an 8-5 win over the Angels. The big inning that led to the big win also helped the Rangers climb back into a first-place tie with the Angels.

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Showdown At The Big A Depot: Angels-Rangers Live Game Blog, News, Notes And Musings

7:23: Chlorinated the pool this morning, so it’s fresh and clean and waiting for your arrival. Here is who the Rangers are sending out against Angels RHP John Lackey: 2B Ian Kinsler, 3B Michael Young (29-for-76, 2 HRs vs. Lackey), CF Josh Hamilton, DH Andruw Jones, 1B Hank Blalock (20-for-61, 2 HRs vs. Lackey), RF Marlon Byrd (6-for-19, 2 HRs vs. Lackey), LF David Murphy, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Elvis Andrus and pitching for the Rangers, making his 2009 debut … RHP Dustin Nippert.

7:37: Don’t forget about our statistical look at the first half of the season this year compared to 2008. I think the numbers are significant. Sweeping improvement in both pitching and defensive categorites. I spent a lot of time on all these charts today. I’m expecting heavy readership!

7:42: Also, today’s question is about Roy Halladay and trying to figure out what the Rangers might give up for him – if they had any financial flexibility, that is.

9:31: Some notes for your perusal. We lead with Derek Holland’s transfer back to the bullpen.

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About Last Night: Sometimes Rangers Are The Windshield, Sometimes They Are The Bug

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Sometimes, you simply play – or pitch – a bad game. Sometimes even it’s a very bad game.

After hours of introspection and a few minutes of research that seems to be the best answer to what happened to the Rangers in a 9-4 swamping they suffered at the hand of the Los Angeles Angels Monday night. The loss, of course, dropped the Rangers a game off the AL West lead. Kevin Millwood was awful, which is news in and of itself, because he hasn’t come remotely close to having a bad game this season.

For the first time this year, Millwood did not come out for the sixth inning and he probably shouldn’t have been forced to get through five, but that’s one small contribution he made to keeping the bullpen a little bit more fresh for Tuesday.  Millwood, who pitched into the seventh five days earlier against the Angels, left pitches in the hitting zone and the Angels pounced. Millwood allowed nine runs, tied for the most he’s allowed as a Ranger, in his five innings of work. His ERA rose more than a half a run from 2.80 to 3.34, pushing him down from fifth in the league to 10th.

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About Last Night: Small Signs Of Progress From Rangers Offense In Big Loss To Arizona?

D-tails: Diamondbacks 8, Rangers 2
• Rangers lose sole possession of first (AL standings)
• Boxscore; game blog; Daniels: Bullpen help is most realistic trade target

PHOENIX – These are the longest days of sunlight in the calendar year. For the Rangers they are simply the longest days.

They start with players and coaches trying to find clues from the past game’s performance to solve a most uncommon problem for this team – a prolonged offensive slump.

It continues right through early batting practice, video work, a round of individual meetings and pep talks between hitting instructor Rudy Jaramillo and his frustrated hitters, regular batting practice, another game and then, if the game is anything like Tuesday’s 8-2 loss to Arizona, another round of introspection and analysis.

Tuesday was even longer than unusual. About an hour after the Rangers lost, the Los Angeles Angels finished off a come-from-behind win over Colorado to pull into a tie for the AL West lead.

Amid it all, the Rangers thought that maybe, just maybe, there was a little progress to build on.

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About Last Night: A Brain Full Of Thoughts On Rangers-Astros Game

I’ve spent the last 12 hours chewing on the Rangers’ 5-4 win over the Astros last night, fully intending to write some comprehensive, flowing account of the game. It’s just not in me. Perhaps that’s because my brain is full of so many snippets from the game, that I’ve just got to spit them out in little bits and chunks (now that’s a fine image to conjure up).

In short, I think the Rangers got very fortunate. The win, I think summarizes, why Ron Washington has job security for next yeart. It’s because his team constantly plays hard for him and, ultimately, that is more important than a manager’s ability to move pieces around. Because in my mind, Washington went 1-for-2 on managerial moves Wednesday. He used his bullpen just as it should be – even if he didn’t get the results he wanted in the eighth inning. But the handling of the bottom of the ninth is an area that must be improved. We are now talking about the Rangers as serious pennant contenders. And they will face the same situations they faced in the ninth in the playoff race later this year or, if they are so fortunate, in the playoffs. The players must improve their execution. And Washington must improve his decision making.

And with that, away we go:

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Busting Out: Texas Rangers’ Ian Kinsler Emerges From Long Slump In Win Over Houston

D-tails: Rangers 6, Astros 1
• Boxscore, Standings, Depot live game blog
• Miller: All-Star consideration for Millwood?

ARLINGTON - The how and why a player breaks out of a slump are as much a mystery as how and why he ends up in one in the first place.

The cure could come in the form of a day off to relax the mind and refresh the body. Or it could take the form of a mechanical adjustment. Or it might be something as serendipitous as facing a pitcher the player knows he owns.

It was certainly possible that a dash of all three contributed to Ian Kinsler’s big night Tuesday as the Texas Rangers beat Houston 6-1.

What was far more definitive, though, was the tie-in Kinsler’s big night – he went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and a walk – had to the Rangers win. When he scores, the Rangers win; it’s that simple. They entered the week 22-6 when Kinsler scores a run and the fact he hadn’t scored in his last eight games, including the first six of the season’s longest homestand, stood out like a swollen thumb.

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Texas Rangers’ Young Arm, Cold Bats Make For Long Afternoon Against Dodgers In 6-3 Defeat

D-tails: Dodgers 6, Rangers 3
• Boxscore, Standings, Depot game blog
• Francisco placed on DL

ARLINGTON - The education of young Derek Holland takes place in front of a packed Ballpark against the Yankees, at Fenway Park and in Sunday’s rubber game of a three-game home series against the Dodgers, who lead the majors in wins and consume left-handed pitching with a passion.

The Dodgers took advantage of Holland’s early inability to keep his fastball down and scored four runs in three innings en route to a 6-3 victory. Afterward, Holland kicked himself with brute force and said he’s letting down his teammates: “I haven’t pitched to my regular performance.”

Usually, Ranger bats can rescue a young starter in such a plight. Not this past week. The Rangers finished the six-game home week averaging 2.3 runs, their two wins coming in shutouts. On Sunday, they collected five singles and a solo home run and scored two runs on an LA error. The Rangers’ lead in the AL West, at 4.5 games after last Sunday’s win in Boston, is now 2.5 games. They’re off Monday before closing the season’s longest homestand with three against the Astros.

“We didn’t swing the bats as well as we’d wanted,” Michael Young said. “We need to find a way to make adjustments and move on.”

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Lights Out: Rangers Fall to Dodgers 3-1 After Long Delay Due To Light Failure Chases Scott Feldman

D-tails: Dodgers 3, Rangers 1
• Boxscore, Standings, Depot game blog

ARLINGTON - From the press box, when the bank of lights atop the first base side of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington failed Saturday night, the field looked like just about any minor league stadium. To the naked eye, it was darkish, but not pitch black.

To the players, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Rangers third baseman Michael Young said the field became too dark to play safely and concurred with umpiring crew chief Charlie Reliford’s decision to pull the clubs off the field with a scoreless tie after five innings. After a 1:41 delay, the broken breaker was fixed, light was restored and the teams resumed with new pitchers. Los Angeles went on to a 3-1 win.

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Forget Fireworks Night; It Was Goose Egg Night Again As Texas Rangers Rough Up Dodgers, 6-0

+ Box score + In game blog

ARLINGTON - Beating the Oaklands and Seattles to build a lead in the AL West since early May, the Rangers went out Friday night and looked like a complete team in shutting out the team with the best record in the major leagues. In blanking the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-0, the Rangers tossed their second consecutive shutout, made nearly every tough play in the field and got production throughout their lineup.

Said manager Ron Washington: “We swung the bats. We played defense. We pitched. We did whatever the game asked us to do.”

And when the game was still in doubt in the fifth inning, winning pitcher Vicente Padilla made a change in the middle of an at-bat that might have played a significant role in the outcome.

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