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 Coming to the plate for the final time in the Texas Rangers' 16-0
rout of the Chicago White Sox, Arencibia looked out and saw the
towering form of Adam Dunn standing on the mound.
Arencibia and the Rangers had already bashed through four Chicago
pitchers, so the 6-foot-6, 280-pound White Sox designated hitter
made his professional pitching debut -- something he's been asking
manager Robin Ventura to do for about two years. He gave up the
game's final run on two hits and a walk.
"Honestly, for me, it's the worst at-bat in baseball," said
Arencibia, the Rangers' designated hitter, who weakly lined out to
first baseman Jose Abreu for the inning's second out. "It's a
lose-lose situation. Your adrenaline is at zero and you're just
trying to be as locked in as possible, and you look up there and
there's Adam Dunn, you know, a guy that I've watched my whole life
growing up, hitting homers and looking up to ... and now I'm facing
him."
It was that kind of evening for the Rangers (44-69) and White Sox
(55-59), who set season high marks for largest margin of defeat
twice in the past three games. Two days after the Minnesota Twins
routed the White Sox 16-3 here, the Rangers hit a season-high five
home runs and cruised to their largest margin of victory in a
shutout in franchise history.
Catcher Robinson Chirinos hit two home runs in a game for the first
time in his career, and Texas also got long balls from third baseman
Adrian Beltre, Arencibia and left fielder Shin-Soo Choo.
The home runs were the most in one game for the Rangers since they
hit five Aug. 23, 2013 also against the White Sox in U.S. Cellular
Field. The run total and margin of victory were the largest for the
Rangers this season, topping 14 runs scored (twice) and bettering a
12-0 defeat of the White Sox on April 18 in Texas.
Texas right-hander Colby Lewis (8-8) also had a great game, throwing
the second shutout of his career. Both happened in this stadium,
with the previous one on May 16, 2011.
"It felt like my location was really good tonight, but the offense
definitely made my job a lot easier, that's for sure," Lewis said.
"Your mentality is, when you have that type of lead you've got to go
out there and throw strikes. Period. You can't just go out there and
nibble."
The Rangers (44-69) stormed out to a 7-0 lead in the first two
innings and kept going against a battered White Sox pitching staff,
which is trying to hold it together until a couple of injured
relievers return to the bullpen later this week.
Arencibia went 3-for-5 with a double, a homer and five RBIs, and
Chirinos finished 3-for-5. The Rangers got at least one hit from all
nine starters in the order.
Chicago left-hander John Danks (9-7) gave up nine runs on eight
hits, five walks and four homers in 4 2/3 innings. Since the
All-Star break, Danks is 1-1 with a 10.29 ERA in four starts. He has
allowed 33 hits in 21 innings during that span, including nine home
runs.
"I felt great," Danks said. "It's a shame to go out there and get
your butt kicked on a night that you feel so good. It doesn't happen
every time out when you feel great and tonight I felt really good
about everything in the bullpen and I just got my (butt) kicked."
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As the Twins did Sunday, the Rangers made it a full-on rout in the later
innings. Choo's homer to start the sixth made it 10-0, and Texas scored
four more times in the seventh for a two-touchdown advantage, 14-0. They
tacked on solo runs in the eighth and ninth for good measure.
The Rangers jumped all over Danks in the first two innings, taking a 7-0
lead.
It started in the first, when right fielder Alex Rios hit an RBI single
and Beltre followed with a long two-run homer, his 16th of the season.
The first of Chirinos' two homers started the second, followed by Danks
walking the bases loaded and Arencibia making it 7-0 by clearing the
bases with a double.
Arencibia homered to start the fifth, followed by Chirinos' second of
the game. That was Danks' last batter on a forgettable night that ended
after 103 pitches.
"Guys were up and they were doing it to everybody, it wasn't necessarily
just him," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said of Danks. "If he's going
to be up and falling behind, things like that, it can happen. Just not a
good night all the way around. You get beat up a little bit that way."
NOTES: White Sox LF Alejandro De Aza didn't play because of a bruised
left knee. The injury happened after he fouled a ball off the knee
Monday, forcing him to leave Chicago's 5-3 rain-shortened win early. De
Aza is day-to-day. ... Chicago pitching coach Don Cooper missed his 12th
game while battling effects of vertigo. ... White Sox manager Robin
Ventura gave struggling 2B Gordon Beckham a day off and started INF
Leury Garcia at second. ... Ventura moved C Tyler Flowers up two spots
in the batting order, hitting him seventh instead of ninth because he is
in a groove offensively. ... RHP Nick Tepesch will start the series
finale for Texas after skipping his last outing because of soreness in
his left knee. ... Rangers manager Ron Washington said SS Elvis Andrus
would start Wednesday despite being 0-for-15 with five strikeouts in his
career against White Sox LHP Chris Sale. ... C Robinson Chirinos will
also start Wednesday, Washington said, despite it being a day game
following a night game.
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