On Monday morning, Stars coach Marc Crawford announced the groin problem that Richards has been playing with for weeks would keep him out of Monday night’s AAC meeting with L.A. and possibly out of Wednesday night’s road trip opener game at Anaheim. Crawford stated the obvious, that others would have their chance to step up and fill Richards’ void.

The response was predictably spotty from many players still earning their wings as NHL’ers. “We made a lot of young mistakes,” Crawford said.

With Richards and Mike Modano, Steve Ott and Jere Lehtinen out, the Stars resorted to bringing up young Perttu Lindgren for his NHL debut and keeping defenseman Marc Fistric at forward.  The Richards and Ribeiro lines have shouldered most of the offensive load so far this season. Ribeiro’s line was left to provide most of the attack on Monday night.

Mike Ribeiro, Brenden Morrow and Jamie Benn accounted for 20 of the 29 shots taken by forwards and the only Dallas goal. That was a product of Morrow’s grit and guile late in the first period when he flicked a blind, backhand pass from behind the L.A. net to Benn, planted in the crease. Benn jabbed it through Jonathan Quick.

The Stars grabbed the early lead on a road-weary opponent. But the Kings’ top line of Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams took control for an 11-minute stretch of the second period. It began with Smyth’s power-play goal at 5:17, scored shortly after the Stars survived a 1:37 five-on-three (killed solely by Ribeiro, Karlis Skrastins and Trevor Daley). L.A. added scores from Williams and Kopitar within a three-minute span midway through the period when the Stars ceded control of neutral ice. The makeshift Dallas combinations on the ice for those goals were Fistric-Petersen-Barch (at the end of a long shift) and Brunnstrom-Wandell-Neal.

The Stars pounded Quick with 15 shots in the third period with nothing to show for their efforts, and L.A. added an empty-netter at the finish. The Kings came into the game 30^th in the league in face-offs and won 25 of 46 to help keep the Stars at bay.

“We made the turnovers. We created their chances,” Ribeiro said. “It got away for 10, 15 minutes in the second period, and they took advantage of it.”

Said Morrow: “It’s a lack of execution, trying to do the easy thing. Trying to make it easy on yourself. I don’t know if you call that lack of effort.”

There was no lack of effort from his line – Ribeiro hit the post twice – but the results were minimal.

“If we didn’t get the chances, I think we’d be a little bit concerned,” Morrow said. “It’s just a matter of time before they start going in. The pucks were there. They were bouncing off our sticks. That just happens.”

Four games into the home schedule, the Stars have only three points at AAC. Yet they’ve come away from Calgary and Chicago with wins.

Crawford acknowledged it was a gamble to add Lindgren to the lineup (“The game got a little tense for him.”), and he’ll look for more size and reliability when considering reinforcements from the Texas Stars for the upcoming trip. Richards might be back Wednesday. Ott might be back Wednesday after taking his first morning skate with the team on Monday. Modano told DMN‘s Mike Heika that he recently tweaked his opening-night rib injury and considers himself day to day for a month.

Having played three games in four days, the Stars will play the usual back-to-backers in Anaheim and L.A. on Wednesday and Thursday nights and stop in St. Louis on Saturday night before getting three days off. Such breaks will be rare in a schedule compacted in an Olympic season.

“That’s why you work so hard in the summertime,” Morrow said, “so you’re in good shape.”

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.

The one thing that has stood in the way of the Rangers making their playoff run more serious is a ponderous lack of offense. Hamilton has been hurt or ineffective for much of the season. 2B Ian Kinsler endured a three-month slump after a scorching April. 1B Chris Davis never came close to duplicating the impressive second half he had in 2008 during the first half in 2009.

As a result, the Rangers have wallowed around the bottom third of the league in batting average, on-base percentage and runs scored. It’s been the ability to catch the ball in the field and a reduction in walks allowed by the pitching staff that has kept the Rangers in contention.

The doubleheader, however, offered more evidence that there is hope the offense has a late-season run in it.

Hamilton, Davis and Kinsler combined to go 11-for-21 with four homers. They drove in eight of the Rangers 10 runs. And all have been hot at the plate since returning from injury (Hamilton and Kinsler) or the minors (Davis).

Over the last four weeks, each player is hitting better than .330 and slugging better than .540.

The only thing missing, however, has been homers for Hamilton.

On Tuesday, he watched Toronto LHP Marc Rzepcynski throw in on him throughout the first game without much success. In the second, when LHP Brian Tallet tried to do the same thing, Hamilton was able to make the necessary adjustments to get to those inside pitches.

In the fourth, he stayed back on a 77 mph slider long enough to drive it out to right center. In the fifth, he yanked a fastball, the fifth of the at-bat, to right field for a two-run homer.

Manger Ron Washington was thankful for the homers, but isn’t yet ready to sound warning sirens to the rest of the AL.

“If you think that’s what you’re going to be seeing the rest of the way, I don’t know,” Washington said.  ”I certainly hope that it got him locked in.”
Said Kinsler: “Everybody knows we have the potential for a high-powered offense. We just haven’t lived up to it. If we do, we’re capable of having a very good month.”

It certainly started out the right way for the offense, particularly for Hamilton.

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.”

Three Up
• After the Rangers had been no-hit for the first 3.2 innings, 2B Ian Kinsler hit a two-out, three-run homer off A.J. Burnett in the fourth to give Texas the lead. It came after CF Josh Hamilton and RF Nelson Cruz took back-to-back walks.
• RHP Jason Grilli bounced back from two outings in which he failed to retire a batter to retire all seven guys he faced on Thursday.
• 1B Chris Davis hit his first home run since his recall, a three-run homer in the seventh that blew the game open.

Three Down
• RHP Dustin Nippert’s days in the rotation may be numbered after the allowed seven walks and had to be pulled with a lead in the fourth inning.
• Nippert has been terrible at holding runners on base. The Yankees stole three bases in the first four innings against him Thursday. Nine of 10 base-stealers have been successful against him this season and 19 of 22 for his career.
• DH Julio Borbon was 0-for-4 and struck out in his first three at-bats. Borbon struck out four consecutive times, including his final at-bat Tuesday.

Stat o’ the Game
5.46: RHP Dustin Nippert’s ERA when he starts on normal (four days) of rest or longer. Nippert has made six of his eight starts on regular rest. He’s 1-2 in those games. When called on as emergency starter, he’s 1-0 with a 0.84 ERA.

Star of the Game
Here are your candidates: 1B Chris Davis (1-for-4, 3-run HR), RHP Jason Grilli (2.1 IP, 0 H, 3 Ks ), 2B Ian Kinsler (2-for-4, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs), LHP C.J. Wilson (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 Ks)  Vote here.

Wednesday’s Player of the Game: David Murphy (87% of vote)

Flying Saucer/Flying Fish Depot Double Dip Games
Flying Saucer:Rangers win (Print $5 coupon here; good for Friday)
Flying Fish: Rangers walked 3 times (Print $5 coupon here; good on Friday)

Home Run Pool
No winners

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.”

What Tuesday’s game illuminates is a widening concern about the bullpen. The Rangers don’t appear to trust RHP Jason Jennings or Doug Mathis in close games. They did trust Grilli, but he hasn’t retired any of the five hitters he has faced since returning from the DL last week. There are guidelines for the care and usage of RHP Neftali Feliz. And Francisco hasn’t been great at bouncing back to pitch on consecutive days; he’s got an 11.88 ERA when pitching with no days of rest and all three of his blown saves have occurred in those situations.

For close games, the Rangers essentially have a four-man bullpen: Francisco, Wilson, RHP Darren O’Day and Feliz. If they are in a close game tonight or Thursday, the bullpen appears to be even thinner. Feliz, who threw a career-high 42 pitches Tuesday, is done for this series. Francisco threw 23 and, as we mentioned earlier, hasn’t been great on back-to-back nights. O’Day has pitched in each of the last four games, though the team was off on Monday.

The Rangers should get some bullpen reinforcements within the week when rosters can be expanded. Maybe two weeks of rest will give 38-year-old LHP Eddie Guardado just enough of a shot of energy for him to regain some sharpness. The middle of games might end up being in the hands of RHP Willie Eyre, RHP Dustin Nippert or RHP Brandon McCarthy.

And since Rangers starters are averaging about 5.2 innings over the last 10 games, the middle men may become key players down the stretch.

It makes for a scary situation.

You know what, though: It sure beats having nothing on the line.

Grinding Millwood: Are the Rangers asking more out of RHP Kevin Millwood than he is physically able to deliver?

He is averaging 106.4 pitches through 25 starts, which would be a career high pitches-per-game average. Millwood has only once before averaged 100 pitches per game – 102 in 1999 when he was 24. At 34, he tends to wear down quicker. All the work he piled up in the first half may now be catching up to him. His ERA has risen by a run since the All-Star break (2.64 to 3.63) and he’s lasted as long as six innings just once in the last 30 days.

I expected to see a reliever to start the sixth on Tuesday, but given the uncertainty among middle relievers right now, in hindsight, maybe sticking with Millwood is Washington’s most reliable option.

Elvis hits 21: On the eve of his 21st birthday, SS Elvis Andrus might have done more to help his Rookie of the Year candidacy then he may ever know. He had a pair of two-out, run-scoring hits to account for three RBIs. He grabbed  Melky Cabrera’s liner and sprinted to second base to complete the game-ending unassisted double-play. Those things, done in front of the New York (read: National) media, are only going to make his candidacy to become the youngest AL Rookie of the Year in 60 years more legit.

There have been only six 21-year-olds to win the AL award since it was separated from the NL in 1949. The last three of those all are at least decent comps to Andrus: Ozzie Guillen (1985), Alfredo Griffin (co-ROY in 1979) and Lou Whittaker (1978). Andrus will be younger than all of them were at the end of their first full season.

Andrus’ main competition now seems to be White Sox 3B Gordon Beckham (.284, .361 OBP, .460 slugging in 72 games); Detroit LHP RHP Rick Porcello (10-8, 4.39 ERA  in 23  starts) and Oakland LHP RHP Andrew Bailey (6-3, 18 saves, 1.99 ERA). (hat/tip to evan_knows_nada; which apparently is correct).

Andrus (.270, .332 OBP, .385 slugging) has played significantly more games than the others (108). He’s also batting .306/.366/.459 since the All-Star break. A very young rookie, playing a premium defensive position and getting better in the middle of a pennant race? That’s a pretty hard combination to top.

The bunt: Still not sure if the Rangers got a break when they most needed it courtesy of Yankees manager Joe Girardi or if smart managing simply back-fired.

Here was the situation: With the score 10-9 and the crowd going nuts, the Yankees had scored four runs, had two men on and no outs when Girardi asked OF Nick Swisher to bunt. Swisher missed the first attempt, then popped up to Michael Young in foul territory. Ostensibly, the bunt was being used to keep the Yankees out of a double play situation, to move the go-ahead run to scoring position and to insure that SS Derek Jeter would hit.

Swisher has three sac bunts this season and was 0-for-5 against Francisco coming into the at-bat, so it all seemed to make sense. I can’t help but think, though, that the at-bat slowed down the game and hushed the crowd just long enough for a shaky Francisco to regain enough composure to finish off the game.

Not exactly quotes of the day: If they are going to make a movie about this Rangers season, somebody better get an advisor to Arlington, stat. The Rangers just can’t seem to come up with the big quote at the right time.

Take these exchanges Tuesday night:

To Michael Young: “With everything that went on – the big early deficit, the two-out runs, the ninth inning drama – can you put this win into context?”

Young: “It’s a win. I’m not going to make it out bigger than any other. No win here in this stadium, against that lineup, with that crowd, is ever easy.”

Ho-hum.

To manager Ron Washington: “What was running through your mind when a four-run lead has melted to one and you’ve got two men on and one out?”

Washington: “Just get those last two outs.”

Yawn.

They are content to be boring in the clubhouse, as long as they remain exciting on the field.

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.

“Holland was outstanding,” Manager Ron Washington said after the game without waiting for anybody to ask him a question. “That was a big-game shutout againa a big-time team. He should be proud of himself. We’re very proud of him.”

What the Rangers were most proud of was the way he and C Taylor Teagarden seemed to understand the Angels approach and take advantage of it. Los Angeles went to the play apparently not believing that Holland could get the fastball over for strikes and repeatedly took called strikes to let Holland get ahead in the count. He threw 24 first-pitch strikes to the 31 batters he faced. Of  those 24 first-pitch strikes, 14 were called strikes. In the first five innings, while Holland had his no-hitter going, only two batters swung at the first pitch.

And as much as the Rangers have talked to Holland about using his entire repertoire, the young pitcher and catcher understood there was no reason to divert from the fastball as long as the Angels were taking it for strikes.

“Everyone knows that he’s got great stuff,” said 3B Michael Young. “It’s just been a matter of using all his pitches. But until they make an adjustment, there is no reason to change up what is working. What good pitchers do is make the opposing hitters make the first adjustment and then they quickly adjust to that. That’s exactly what Derek did.”

After Izturis broke up the no-hitter, Holland came at Erick Aybar with a first-pitch change to get a first-pitch foul ball that resulted in a strikeout to end the sixth.

“I was really curious to see how he would do after he gave up the hit,” Teagarden said. “I thought for a second ‘OK, let’s see if he can keep his poise.’ He did. He did everything you would want a guy to do. He just came right back and attacked Aybar.”

Said Holland: “We were on the same page the entire game and we just saw the same things. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned since I got here is to put everything in the past. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the moment. Just forget it and move on. When [Izturis] singled, I just forgot and moved on.”

What they moved on to was an assortment of varied pitches. In the seventh, he went slider, fastball, change, change for first pitches to the four hitters he faced. That small variation from the fastball pattern was enough to throw the now more-aggressive Angels off balance. And with that accomplished, he went back to the fastball for the eighth and ninth.

It was the second time in the last three outings that Holland has been absolutely dominant. With his name being tossed about in Roy Halladay trade rumors, he took a one-hit shutout against Seattle to the ninth inning on July 30. But in his last start against Oakland, Holland lasted only 4.1 innings.

“I see a guy who is working his butt off to get better,” Washington said. “He is learning what he needs to do at the major league level. There is no doubt he’s got the aptitude. Two of the last three games have been way above expectations. Or maybe he’s starting to meet the highest of expectations. Whatever you want to say, the aptitude is there.”

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.

After going 0-for-3 in the opener of last week’s Red Sox series, Andrus was hitting a season-low .249. His on base percentage, at .330 starting July, had dropped to .313.

“I was trying to force too much,’ he said. “I wasn’t going there to have fun. Like too tight at home plate,”

Less thinking, better choices. Batting with two on and two out in the second, he went with an outside change-up and singled to center, driving in the first of Texas’ four second-inning runs. He singled and scored in the fourth and homered leading off the sixth.

He was only retired in the eighth, when most of his bat sailed over the opposing dugout. (No warning given.)

This after Monday night’s two-double effort, the first time all season that he has had multiple extra-base hits in a game. He’s 9 for his last 19. The average is up to .263, highest in three weeks. The OPS has creeped up to .321. Andrus credits the patience of hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo and the presence of Ian Kinsler in the on-deck circle.

“He has like 24 home runs; they don’t want to face him,” he said. He often tries to lay off outside breaking pitches and wait for the fastball. Tigers righty reliever Zach Miner tried to get consecutive fastballs past him over the plate in the sixth. The second one barely cleared the out-of-town scoreboard for Andrus’ fourth homer.

“I never think for home runs,” he said.

Detroit lefty starter Lucas French had Andrus picked off in the fourth. But Andrus sped toward second, and first baseman Miguel Cabrera’s throw to second was wide and flew into left field. He then took third and scored on Kinsler’s sacrifice fly to give the Rangers a two-run lead. Taking second gave him 20 steals, making him the 10^th major leaguer age 20 or younger with 20 steals in a season – the first since Andruw Jones in 1997.

Kinsler left the game with a hamstring injury after limping on his way to first in the sixth and was listed as day-to-day on Tuesday night. Andrus has been a staple in the No. 9 hole. He batted second frequently when Michael Young was dropped to third during Josh Hamilton’s first trip to the disabled list. With manager Ron Washington willingly moving pieces throughout the batting order – Hamilton now batting seventh – what about Andrus moving up again?

Washington shook his head: “He’s not ready for that.”

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?

On Tuesday, a new chapter was written in the wacky story that began two years ago. Grilli, who had just departed for Colorado, tried to answer a reporter’s question about the Tigers’ woes by saying chemistry had changed since the 2006 World Series run and earned a profanity-laced rebuke from Leyland in return.

Tuesday’s chapter began with a wayward fastball intended to back Detroit’s Clete Thomas off the plate that led to a brushback skirmish between the two teams. It happened in the fifth inning when Grilli didn’t like how “comfortable” Thomas appeared in the batter’s box and attempted to throw inside. If that was the intent, his command was off. The ball ended up just over Thomas’ helmet.

“I’m just trying to pitch inside,” Grilli said after the Rangers’ 7-3 win. “That’s all I was trying to do.”

That’s not how the Tigers viewed it and the bench made it clear. And in the sixth, they made that perfectly clear. After Elvis Andrus led off with a homer, reliever Zach Miner threw behind Ian Kinsler. Kinsler stared angrily out towards the mound for a moment, but no warning was issued by the umpiring crew. The warning, however, came in the seventh when Eddie Guardado threw inside on Adam Everett.

It also brought Leyland out to protest to the umpires because the Rangers essentially got an extra chance at retribution that was not needed. And it led to some chirping from the Tigers bench directed at Guardado, who appeared to mouth the words. “Stop talking; zip it,” in the direction of the Tigers bench. After the game, Guardado didn’t deny that he was trying to send Detroit a message.

“I was trying to protect my guys,” Guardado said. “I didn’t hit him. I didn’t try to hit him. But throwing behind somebody, that’s just not how you play the game. That’s just not right.”

Despite all the brushing back that was going on, the benches never came close to emptying.

Afterwards, Grilli tried once to again to explain that he had no beef with Leyland.

“I had nothing but a positive experience in Detroit,” Grilli said. “I had great memories and have great respect for everybody there. I simply tried to answer a question and said that some things had changed with the chemistry. And that’s it.”

At the time, Grilli suggested the departure of Sean Casey had impacted the team’s chemistry while the Tigers were struggling to repeat the success of 2006. Upon hearing of the quotes, Leyland erupted into a long diatribe about the team’s chemistry and included a shot at Grilli.

“Jason Grilli should just worry about Colorado,” Leyland said at the time. “Jason Grilli isn’t [in Detroit] any longer because Jason Grilli didn’t pitch good under pressure situations and didn’t pitch very well in Detroit. If he’d done a better job, he’d still be here.”

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.

It was a distinctly different result from the first time this season Washington put the squeeze sign on. That came on June 8 with the Rangers trying to rally against Toronto in the first game of a big homestand. Down 4-0, the Rangers had scored three runs in the sixth and had Marlon Byrd on third with Andrus at the plate. Washington called for the play. Toronto’s Casey Jansen threw a slider away. Andrus stabbed at the ball and missed it, leaving Byrd caught in a rundown play. End of rally. The air went out of the crowd and the Rangers managed nothing else the rest of the night.

Flash forward to Wednesday’s fourth inning when Washington put the sign on again. Andrus slid his back foot towards home plate and when he got another slider away from Cly Buchholz, he was able to reach the pitch, deaden the ball and drive in the run.

“Repetition is the name of the game,” Washington said. “This game always comes back to you. Situations are going to up again. He knows we are going to use him in those situations. He knows we believe he is capable. He showed he is. When you come out to make that bunt, you’ve got to be able to cover the whole plate with your bat. That’s exactly what he did [Wednesday].”

Said Andrus: “Last time, I didn’t get all the way across the plate. This time I moved my feet. I got the same pitch, same location – that’s what they are going to do in those situations. I just made sure I got it done this time. [Washington] has told me that if we get the chance to do it again, we were going to do it. I wanted to be ready. This was the right time to do it. It felt great to get the job done.”

Wednesday night was not one of those nights.

After the Rangers finished off an unlikely sweep of Boston with an old-school 3-1 win, Washington walked into his post-game press conference and before taking a single question summed things up this way:

“I can’t imagine a team playing any better baseball for three days than the baseball we have played,” Washington said. “We played with high energy and we executed.”

The last 48 hours of the Rangers first sweep of Boston in five years were particularly dramatic. On Tuesday, rookie RHP Tommy Hunter outdueled former World Series hero Josh Beckett. On Wednesday, RHP Dustin Nippert and RHP Doug Mathis stepped into the void created by a flu epidemic and an overworked bullpen. Nippert, moved to the bullpen a week ago, gave the Rangers 5.2 innings of one-run baseball while working on two days rest. Mathis, rarely called upon in close games, finished it off with the longest save by a Ranger since 2005.

And just for good measure, the clincher included six steals and successfully executed suicide squeeze play by SS Elvis Andrus, who had failed on the same play a month ago.

Andrus’ squeeze helped the Rangers push across the third run, giving them a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. They allowed nothing else the rest of the way.

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.

So when the Jaramillo finished his presentation and the hitters started exchanging thoughts, 3B Michael Young made his clear:

“I’m going to get a fastball and I’m going to hit it,” Young said.

Translation: “He was basically telling everybody to keep their approach pretty simple,” said 2B Ian Kinsler. “Don’t get too cute or too fancy. Just keep it simple.”

And that’s exactly what the Rangers – particularly Young – did. They put away their aggressive approach early, saw more pitches from Smoltz and as the lineup turned over one time to the next, they started having more and more success. It resulted in a five-run sixth inning, on the third trip through the lineup, that gave the Rangers the lead and knocked Smoltz out of the game.

Young, the second batter in the Rangers lineup, took a first-pitch fastball from Smoltz, but jumped on the next pitch, a slider, for a single. It stood as the Rangers’ only hit until the fourth when Young saw the fastball again twice during a five-pitch at-bat. He rocketed the second fastball for a double to start the inning and eventually scored on Hank Blalock’s two-out double.

And in the sixth, with the Rangers down 2-1, he saw two more fastballs down and away that he simply couldn’t get to, so when Smoltz threw a 2-and-1 slider that stayed up, Young homered to left center to tie the game. It did more than that. It started a five-run rally that included two more homers by David Murphy and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

“When you haven’t seen a guy, I just think it’s best to keep a pretty simple approach,” Young said. “A lot of the situational stuff will be dictated by the game situations, so you just go up there trying not to think too much about anything other than getting a pitch to hit. It’s just my way of saying ‘keep it simple.’ I just want to go up there and be ready.”

On Monday, Young was. So were the Rangers.