|
 "We just try to handle our part," Rangers third baseman Adrian
Beltre said Monday night, "but you're not going to turn away when
the scoreboard's right there in front of you."
After peeking out in the center field stands to see that the
American League West-leading Houston Astros already lost, the
Rangers took care of their part with a 3-0 win over the Seattle
Mariners on Monday.
Starter Yovani Gallardo threw 5 1/3 shutout innings, and the Rangers
continued to push their way toward the top of the AL West standings
with the shutout win. Texas (72-64) moved to within two games of the
Astros, who fell 10-9 to the Oakland A's on Monday.
Gallardo handed a shutout over to the Texas bullpen in the sixth,
after Beltre drove in the first two runs of the game with a
bases-loaded single in the top of the inning.
A pair of wild pitches by Seattle reliever Rob Rasmussen in the
seventh allowed Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor to move to third
base and then score for a 3-0 lead.
The Rangers' bullpen did the rest, as three relievers finished off
the shutout.
"Our bullpen has been really good, especially after the All-Star
break," Beltre said. "Our bullpen has been absolutely ridiculous."
Gallardo (12-9) put the relief corps in position to finish it off.
He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out four on the
way to earning his fifth consecutive win since his last defeat, a
10-0 loss at Houston on July 19.
"I was able to get in a good rhythm and move the ball to both sides
of the plate," Gallardo said of his Monday outing.
Manager Jeff Banister said pulling Gallardo out in the sixth inning
had very little to do with his starter and more to do with the
wealth of relievers available.
"We had the arms in the bullpen," Banister said. "We felt it was the
time to go ahead and make the move."
The Mariners (66-72) had a five-game winning streak snapped as they
continued to fall out of contention for any kind of playoff
consideration. They are nine games out in the AL West and seven
games behind Texas in the race for the second AL wild card.
"We've been playing good baseball," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon
said. "We'll bounce back from this. Nobody's pulled a curtain on us
yet."
Seattle starter Roenis Elias allowed two runs on five hits over 5
1/3 innings. Elias (4-8) was dominant for five innings before Texas
got to him in the sixth. The Rangers' only two hits of the first
five innings came on a pair of singles by first baseman Mike Napoli.
With one out in the sixth, Texas had five consecutive batters reach
base, resulting in a 2-0 lead on Beltre's two-run single.
"He wasn't tired," McClendon said of Elias' struggles in the sixth.
"He just did not make the pitches he needed to make."
Reliever Mayckol Guaipe got the Mariners out of the sixth with a
bases-loaded double play.
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Texas struck again in the seventh, thanks in large part to
Rasmussen's wildness.
After Guaipe gave up a leadoff single to Odor, the runner moved to
second on a sacrifice bunt. Rasmussen came on to face left-handed
pinch hitter Will Venable. Rasmussen got a strikeout before throwing
a wild pitch to move Odor to third. Two pitches later, Rasmussen
threw wild again, allowing Odor to score for a 3-0 Texas lead.
During one span, three of Rasmussen's five pitches were wild.
Texas leadoff hitter Delino DeShields had to come out of the game in
the seventh, when he jammed his right leg on third base trying to
steal. DeShields sprained his left knee on the slide, and he is
listed as day-to-day.
Banister said DeShields won't be in the lineup Tuesday and that his
injury will be re-evaluated then.
Napoli went 3-for-4, while Beltre had two RBIs to give him 50 for
the season.
Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson survived a scare in the ninth to earn
his 30th save of the season. He gave up a leadoff single to second
baseman Robinson Cano, then got a warning-track flyout before
finishing off the shutout -- Texas' eighth of the season and first
since Aug. 30.
An announced crowd of only 18,469 showed up for the Labor Day
afternoon game.
NOTES: Texas activated C Robinson Chirinos (shoulder) from the
15-day disabled list and recalled RHP Nick Martinez from Triple-A
Round Rock. ... The Mariners optioned LHP Edgar Olmos to Triple-A
Tacoma after Sunday's game and recalled RHP Danny Farquhar. ...
Seattle RF Nelson Cruz (strained quad) missed a fourth game in a
row. Mariners OF Franklin Gutierrez (groin) sat out for a third
consecutive day. ... Texas CF Delino DeShields (strained torso) was
back in the lineup after missing Sunday's game, but he left with a
leg injury. He won't play Tuesday. ... Yovani Gallardo is the only
right-hander scheduled to start for Texas during the four-game
series in Seattle. LHPs Cole Hamels, Martin Perez and Derek Holland
will follow Gallardo. ... Seattle still hasn't named a Wednesday
starter. LHP James Paxton had a setback during his rehab stint,
while scheduled Thursday starter Felix Hernandez is being given
extended time off between starts to rest his arm.
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