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 Instead, Moreland considered a simple slogan that reduced his heart
rate.
"Just win the pitch," Moreland said. "If I tell myself to win the
pitch, it helps me slow it down a little bit."
Moreland won the pitch, and the Rangers won the game. His two-out,
two-run single to right field lifted Texas to a 2-1 victory against
the Chicago White Sox.
The Rangers (37-31) earned their sixth win in the past eight games.
The victory marked the third time in 27 games this season in which
Texas rallied for a win despite trailing after eight innings.
The White Sox (28-38) lost their eighth consecutive game and fell a
season-worst 10 games below .500.
Rangers manager Jeff Banister said he had full confidence in
Moreland, who drove in right fielder Shin-Soo Choo and shortstop
Elvis Andrus for the tying and go-ahead runs. Before the at-bat, the
White Sox intentionally walked designated hitter Prince Fielder with
first base open in order to get to Moreland.
"I could see the look in his eye," Banister said of Moreland, who
has nine pinch-hit RBIs in 45 at-bats in his career. "He looks for
those types of opportunities. He put a great swing on it."
Rangers right-hander Colby Lewis (7-3) earned the win after limiting
White Sox hitters to one run in eight innings. Lewis allowed nine
hits, walked none and struck out seven.
White Sox right-hander David Robertson (4-2) drew the loss after
blowing his fourth save in 17 chances.
Rangers right-hander Shawn Tolleson pitched a scoreless ninth to
collect his 10th save.
The defeat spoiled a tremendous performance by White Sox left-hander
Chris Sale, who struck out 14 in eight scoreless innings. Sale
carried a no-hitter into the sixth before Rangers second baseman
Hanser Alberto broke up the effort with a bloop single into center
field.
Sale marked his fifth consecutive start with 12 or more strikeouts,
joining Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez as the only
pitchers to achieve the feat.
Sale said the accomplishment was nice, but it was tarnished by
another tough loss. The eight-game skid is the worst stretch for the
White Sox since Aug. 28 to Sept. 7, 2013, when the team dropped nine
in a row.
"It's an honor to get my name mentioned with them, but it's
something more for you guys and friends and family," Sale said. "I'm
here for one reason, and that's winning ball games. All the other
stuff is more of a distraction than anything, really."
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Sale took exception when a reporter asked whether he felt as if he
had to pitch a shutout to earn a win.
"Easy, now," Sale said. "That's kind of a (crummy) question to ask,
really. You think I'm going to say something bad about one of my
teammates, you're dead wrong. We have a bunch of fighters in here.
We have guys that come in here every single day and play as hard as
they can, plain and simple."
Catcher Tyler Flowers gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the fifth
inning with a solo home run. Lewis left a high breaking pitch over
the middle part of the plate, and Flowers pulled it down the left
field line for his fourth home run of the season.
Lewis settled down after Flowers' home run. He said Sale's
performance gave him an extra push.
"I just tried to go out there and match," Lewis said. "If he's doing
it, then I try to go out there and have quick innings, too."
The lead remained intact until Moreland's two-run single off
Robertson in the ninth.
"It was a poor performance on me," Robertson said. "I should have
been there to pick the team up. We needed this one really bad. This
one hurt."
NOTES: Texas LF/1B Ryan Rua was activated from the 60-day disabled
list on Friday after a 12-game minor league rehabilitation
assignment. Rua, 25, sustained a non-displaced fracture in his right
heel April 10 against Houston. ... White Sox C Tyler Flowers
returned to the starting lineup for the first time in four games.
... Texas recalled LHP Alex Claudio from Triple-A Round Rock on
Friday. Claudio, 23, was 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA in 16 appearances with
Texas from April 27-June 1. To make room for Claudio, the Rangers
optioned RHP Anthony Ranaudo to Triple-A Round Rock. ... White Sox
RF Avisail Garcia returned to the starting lineup after a day off
Thursday. ... Texas designated LF/RF Jake Smolinski for assignment.
He hit .133 (8-for-60) with one home run and six RBIs in 35 games
with the Rangers.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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