|
 Indians pitcher Justin Masterson quieted the Rangers lineup and
the Cleveland offense was productive enough in a 3-2 victory at
Globe Life Park.
Masterson allowed two runs and struck out six in 5 2/3 innings. He
could have easily been even better as one of the runs came on a wild
pitch and Masterson struck out Rangers first baseman Donnie Murphy
on the next pitch after the wild one.
Indians right fielder and former Ranger David Murphy drove in the
difference-making run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth. He
also had a seeing-eye double that fell between three fielders in the
eighth. All told, Murphy went 2-for-4 and wasn't too concerned with
Cleveland's run-to-hit ratio.
"At the end of the day, when you look back you don't look back and
really care," Murphy said. "The sac fly was the big at bat.
Fortunately, I drove in the run. The double was kind of lucky it
just fell in there."
Cleveland pushed ahead with a pair of runs on two hits and a Rangers
error in the top of the sixth. Designated hitter Ryan Raburn singled
to center to score catcher Yan Gomes and right fielder David
Murphy's sacrifice fly to deep center scored third baseman Lonnie
Chisenhall.
Texas scored a run in the bottom of the sixth when right fielder
Alex Rios hit a one-out triple to drive in third baseman Adrian
Beltre. But the Rangers couldn't get Rios home from third to tie it.
The Rangers managed to take the lead with a run in the bottom of the
fourth despite not hitting the ball very hard. Beltre posted the
Rangers' first hit with an infield single to shortstop. Rios
followed with a looper to left that fell in front of Indians left
fielder Michael Brantley. Texas loaded the bases when catcher Chris
Gimenez walked and, though Beltre was forced out at home, Rios
scored on a wild pitch.
"It was way out there," Masterson said. "It really went wild. It is
tough because you go back to we've been doing really good with the
sinker. Why didn't we just stick with the sinker?"
But Masterson struck out Murphy to end the inning and strand three
Rangers runners.
Murphy was playing in place of Mitch Moreland, whom the Rangers
announced would have surgery on his left ankle. The Rangers already
led the majors in DL uses and players on the disabled list. To make
matters worse, second baseman Rougned Odor left the game with a
strained right shoulder after being picked off at first in the
fifth.
[to top of second column] |
Rangers manager Ron Washington said he didn't want to sound jaded,
but he is determined to keep moving forward with whatever healthy
players remain on his roster.
"You prepare for the ballgame and that's all you can do," Washington
said. "They're quite aware of what we've lost this year. But, once
again, it gives those players an opportunity to step up. I don't
want to seem like I don't care, but we've got 98 ballgames to play.
We've got to focus on the games we're playing right now with the
personnel i have right now."
The Indians answered in the top of the fifth when shortstop Asdrubal
Cabrera singled to center to score Chisenhall. But, like the
Rangers, Cleveland left the bases loaded, which left the game tied
at 1.
NOTES: The Rangers announced Sunday that 1B Mitch Moreland will have
reconstructive surgery on his left ankle and will be out of action
for an estimated three months. Texas, which placed 1B Prince Fielder
on the disabled list in May, are down to its third option at first
base. ... Cleveland's pitching staff entered Sunday's game leading
the majors in strikeouts at 555 despite having only one pitcher,
Corey Kluber, in the top 35 in strikeouts. Kluber has struck out 99
in 86 1/3 innings this season. ... Rangers RF Alex Rios had three
hits on Saturday and two more Sunday as he continues a trend of hot
hitting. Rios has now gone 10-for-19 in his last five games, raising
his average to .332.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
