Rangers' win streak at 5 after 2-1 victory over Cubs

[May 22, 2010]  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Colby Lewis labored through six innings for his first victory in five starts and Nelson Cruz drove in the tiebreaking run for the  Rangers in a 2-1 victory over the Cubs on Friday night.

The AL West-leading Rangers have a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season coming since being swept in a three-game series at Toronto last weekend.

Lewis (4-2) didn't have a 1-2-3 inning until the sixth, but he had already thrown 109 pitches by then and was done. Darren O'Day and Frank Francisco each worked scoreless innings before hard-throwing right-hander Neftali Feliz extended his Rangers rookie record with his 12th save in 14 chances.

Ted Lilly (1-4) pitched into the seventh but remained without a victory since winning his injury-delayed season debut April 24.

Texas got both of its runs in the fourth when Vladimir Guerrero and Cruz had RBI doubles. In between those hits came slugger Josh Hamilton's first career sacrifice bunt - in his 376th career game (1,585th plate appearance) and on his 29th birthday. Ian Kinsler led off the inning by reaching third on an infield hit and two throwing errors.

Lewis hadn't won since April 25, when he was 3-0 through his first four starts and then got a no-decision despite throwing nine scoreless innings his next outing. The right-hander was 0-2 in three May starts before facing the Cubs.

The former first-round pick, who is back with the Rangers after spending the past two seasons in Japan, struck out four and walked three. Lewis had two walks and two strikeouts in a 30-pitch first inning.

Lilly began the season on the disabled list while still recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery in November, then won his season debut with six scoreless innings at Milwaukee. He is 0-4 in five starts, despite allowing only two runs over 6 2-3 innings in Texas.

Kinsler kept running after leading off the fourth with a slow roller that third baseman Mike Fontenot fielded and threw wide of first base. After second baseman Ryan Theriot grabbed the ball in short right field, he flung it into left field for another throwing error when trying to get Kinsler out at second.

Fontenot blooped a leadoff double into short left in the second. He scored when Geovany Soto grounded into a double play.

Former Rangers Alfonso Soriano and Marlon Byrd had consecutive two-out singles in the eighth, grounders past third baseman Michael Young playing near the line trying to prevent doubles. But Francisco got out of the jam when Fontenot took a called third strike.

NOTES: Former Cubs RHP Greg Maddux, an assistant to GM Jim Hendry, is with the team this weekend to work with young pitchers. Maddux also gets a chance to visit his older brother, Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux. ... Soriano, still a second baseman when with Texas in 2004-05, was backpedaling in left field when he awkwardly reached up for Hamilton's flyball over his head that became a double.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN HAWKINS]

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