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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers catcher Geovany Soto stood in front of his locker after a 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox and owned up to a mistake that was costly in Wednesday night's loss.

Soto misjudged a line drive off the bat of Ian Kinsler with one out and the bases loaded with the Rangers trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the second. Mitch Moreland came home from third with the tying run, but Soto also should have scored from second base on a ball that caromed off the top of the out-of-town scoreboard in left field.

The Rangers didn't score any more runs in the inning and missed out on a chance to gain momentum against one of the American League's toughest pitchers, White Sox left-hander Chris Sale.

"I read the ball badly," Soto said. "I just thought he hit it with top spin when he hit the ball. I thought it was going to come up short and [Alejandro De Aza] was going to make a catch on the warning track, but it wasn't that way.

"I should have been halfway between the base line and see the result of the play and go accordingly. Even if he catches it, I'm still in scoring position. But he didn't. I should have scored on that play."

Sale was able to settle in and retire 10 straight Rangers after Kinsler's long single. Sale went seven innings, matching his season high with seven strikeouts. The Rangers didn't get another runner in scoring position against him.

The Rangers missed out on a chance to pick up Soto after his baserunning error. Elvis Andrus struck out after a nine-pitch faceoff with Sale, failing to score a runner at third with one out to give the Rangers the lead. Lance Berkman grounded into a fielder's choice to end the rally.

"We still had the bases loaded and one out," Soto said. "We could have capitalized. But definitely a running mistake on my part. That didn't help."

Soto did an admirable job of guiding rookie starter Nick Tepesch through a tough beginning when he allowed a run each in the first two innings to fall behind 2-0. Soto and Tepesch went away from his fastball and relied heavily on his slider and sinker as he threw four scoreless innings from the third to the sixth.

The White Sox finally got to Tepesch with two home runs in the top of the seventh. White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie led off the inning by belting a 1-0 change-up into the Rangers' bullpen in left-center field for a 3-2 lead. Tepesch later hung a slider that De Aza hit for a two-run home run for key insurance runs with two outs in the inning.

"He just left it up a little bit," Soto said. "He pitched with his heart. He pitched with poise, and you can see that. Just one pitch. That's how games go."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A.J. Pierzynski and Addison Reed were battery mates last year, starting catcher and closer for the Chicago White Sox.

On Wednesday, Reed, still the White Sox's closer, went inside on his former teammate Pierzynski in the bottom of the ninth and hit the Texas Rangers catcher on the elbow. Pierzynski, who had missed the first 17 innings of the series because of a sore oblique muscle, got drilled with two outs and nobody on and the White Sox leading 5-2.

Chicago held on to win by that score. Was there any foul play by the White Sox?

"I'm sure they were trying to pitch me inside and it just got away," Pierzynski said. "There were two outs and we were down by three runs."

Reed said after the game that's exactly what happened.

“I was trying to throw inside and it happened to hit him,’’ said Reed, who worked a scoreless ninth for his ninth save. “Was I trying to hit him? Absolutely not.’’

Reed said he enjoyed throwing to Pierzynski when he was the White Sox catcher.

“I grew up a Sox fan rooting for him,’’ Reed said. “I have nothing at all against him.’’

Pierzynski said he didn't know of any ill will between him and the 24-year old Reed, who broke through with the White Sox last year to record 29 saves.

""Not that I know of," said Pierzynski, who last year had 27 home runs in one of his best seasons with the White Sox. "I always got along fine with him."

White Sox manager Robin Ventura said with a three-run lead against the powerful Rangers lineup, “we’re not trying to put anybody on base. You saw what happened. Thirty seconds later, they had the tying run at the plate.

“There was no message sent.’’

ARLINGTON, Texas -- It's not necessarily a decision that cost the Rangers a game Wednesday night. But it's one that manager Ron Washington even second-guessed -- make that triple-guessed -- after a 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

Washington had reliever Joseph Ortiz ready in the bullpen for a lefty-lefty matchup with Alejandro De Aza with a runner on first and two outs and the Rangers trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh. Starter Nick Tepesch had given up the lead on a leadoff home run by White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie and was at 103 pitches.

But Washington stuck with his rookie right-handed starter and Tepesch gave up a two-run home run to put the Rangers down 5-2 and make it more difficult for the offense to make a comeback.

"Bad decision by me," Washington said. "I stayed with Tepesch one batter too long. I should have brought in Ortiz and I didn't. I'll take the blame for that one."

Washington said he actually second-guessed himself. His intention was to go get Tepesch and bring in Ortiz to face De Aza. But Washington changed his mind and decided to give Tepesch a chance to get out of the inning.

"It didn't work," Washington said. "So it's a bad decision on my part."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nick Tepesch allowed two home runs in the top of the seventh as the Chicago White Sox snapped a 2-2 tie and beat the Texas Rangers 5-2 on Wednesday night at Rangers Ballpark.

Rough seventh for Tepesch: For the second straight start, rookie Nick Tepesch had a rough seventh inning. He allowed two home runs with the game tied at two. White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie led off the inning with a 384-foot home run to right-center field. With two outs, leadoff hitter Alejandro De Aza smacked a two-run home run to right field for a 5-2 lead. Tepesch had allowed two home runs in 27⅓ innings before Wednesday's seventh inning.

Too long with Nick?: Rangers manager Ron Washington stuck with Tepesch after Gillaspie's tiebreaking home run even though the right-hander was around 100 pitches. The White Sox made the Rangers pay with De Aza's two-out homer for a three-run lead.

Eighth-inning threat crumbles: The Rangers hadn't scored against White Sox reliever Jesse Crain in 27⅓ innings before Wednesday night. They had one of their best shots at him after Elvis Andrus and Lance Berkman led off with singles. But Adrian Beltre continued his struggles with a fly out to center but did move Andrus to third. Nelson Cruz struck out on a high fastball. Sox left-handed reliever Matt Thornton came in and got David Murphy to ground out back to the pitcher.

Baserunning gaffe: The Rangers should have scored more in the bottom of the second. With the bases loaded, Ian Kinsler just missed a grand slam, as his line drive to left field hit off the top of the wall. The Rangers scored just one run because Geovany Soto didn't score from second base.

Beltre scuffles: Beltre, who had a two-run home run in his last at-bat Tuesday night, failed to get a hit with a runner at second base and two outs in the first inning. Beltre is four for his past 31 with runners in scoring position.

Frasor improving: Reliever Jason Frasor retired all four batters he faced with two strikeouts. Frasor hasn't allowed a run in his past six innings.

Up next: The Rangers and White Sox wrap up their three-game series Thursday night when rookie right-hander Justin Grimm (2-0, 1.59 ERA) takes on veteran right-hander Jake Peavy (3-1, 3.38 ERA) at 7:05 p.m. on Fox Sports Southwest and ESPN 103.3-FM and 1540-AM.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Lance Berkman will eventually play first base in a game this season. The question of whether he'll play there next week under National League rules in Chicago and Milwaukee is still a mystery.

Rangers manager Ron Washington said Wednesday that Berkman needs repetition at first base -- taking ground balls -- before he plays there. But Washington also has said he's comfortable putting Berkman in the lineup at first base without him getting work there.

"He needs some repetition. We have to start getting him out there," said Washington, who added he hopes to get Berkman out for infield work soon.

"You could put Berkman out there whether he's had repetition or not," Washington said. "I'm going to find out if he wants to play out there, and if he says he wants to play out there, I'm going to put him out there. You'd like to get some repetition before you put somebody into a position."

Berkman said Wednesday while it would help to take ground balls, it wouldn't be the same as being at first base in a real game. "The speed of the game is the real deal," Berkman said.

The Rangers will have to give up the designated hitter for Monday's makeup game at the Cubs and Tuesday and Wednesday at Milwaukee. Cold weather could also be an issue, though Milwaukee's Miller Park does have a roof to provide climate control.

Another consideration -- playing Berkman instead of Mitch Moreland at first base. Moreland is currently the Rangers' hottest hitter, batting .429 with six RBIs in his last nine games.

Other Rangers notes:

Pierzynski out again: Catcher A.J. Pierzynski, out Tuesday and Wednesday with a sore oblique, is an extra scout when it comes to his former team, the White Sox, after eight years with the club. While Pierzynski sat by Washington for much of the game on the bench, the catcher wasn't offering up nuggets of information about his former team.

"He's was talking about anything and everything," Washington said. "Half of the stuff I couldn't understand."

Pierzynski said before Wednesday's game that the bruising in the area around his right oblique has improved and that he expects to play Thursday. Pierznyski took batting practice in the cages before the game.

Andrus is OK: Elvis Andrus is back in the lineup Wednesday after fouling a ball off his calf in the fifth inning of Tuesday's game. His calf stiffened up enough to where he couldn't move well to his left, which explains why Ian Kinsler was able to go all the way behind second base for a ground ball and get on out which brought on a full salute from Washington.

Kinsler said after the game that Andrus would usually be able to get to the ball.

"I don't usually foul the ball off my leg," Andrus said. "I've never had one like that."

Moreland in, Murphy out: Mitch Moreland was back in the lineup while David Murphy sat Wednesday. Jeff Baker was in left field to get his right-handed bat in the lineup against White Sox left-hander Chris Sale.

It's the first time either Murphy or Moreland have been out of the lineup for consecutive days. Moreland had three hits against White Sox lefty Jose Quintana and reached base all four plate appearances, giving Washington a further reason to keep him in Wednesday's lineup.

"Logic would suggest that," Washington said. Murphy will play in left field Thursday against White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy, the manager said.

Washington will reach quicker: David Murphy will be a defensive replacement for left fielder Jeff Baker in the eighth inning if the Rangers have a lead in a close game Wednesday night.

Washington said he should have put Murphy in the game in eighth inning of Tuesday's 10-6 victory. Baker, still nursing a knee injury, had a ball fall into front of him in the eighth inning. Baker bruised his right knee making a sliding catch in the left-corner in Anaheim last Tuesday. He's still not 100 percent, he said after Tuesday's game.

"It took a toll on him," Washington said. "He's fine. I have to make my defensive replacement earlier."

No update on Olt: Daniels said the Rangers didn't have an update on Triple-A infielder Mike Olt, who reported vision issues to club earlier this week. Olt, batting .139 for 72 at-bats, saw doctors on Tuesday.

A.J. Pierzynski, who missed Tuesday's series opener against the White Sox because of an issue with his right oblique muscle, is out again tonight. Geovany Soto will be behind the plate catching Nick Tepesch, who is coming off a win last Thursday against the Twins. Chris Sale is on the mound for the White Sox. Here are the lineups:

RANGERS

Ian Kinsler 2B
Elvis Andrus SS
Lance Berkman DH
Adrian Beltre 3B
Nelson Cruz RF
Jeff Baker LF
Mitch Moreland 1B
Geovany Soto C
Craig Gentry CF

WHITE SOX

Alejandro De Aza LF
Jeff Keppinger 2B
Alex Rios RF
Adam Dunn DH
Paul Konerko 1B
Conor Gillaspie 3B
Alexei Ramirez SS
Tyler Flowers C
Dewayne Wise CF

Wednesday night's Rangers-White Sox game features a pair of 24-year-old pitchers: Rangers up-and-coming rookie Nick Tepesch and White Sox standout left-hander Chris Sale. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. on FSSW and ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM (1540 AM in Spanish).

Tepesch (2-1. 2.53): Tepesch, maybe the best story of the first month of the season, makes his fifth career start. ... He picked up his second win Thursday at Minnesota, taking a shutout into the seventh inning. He allowed one run in 6⅔ innings and didn't walk anyone as the Rangers held on for a 2-1 victory. Tepesch retired the first 12 batters in order. He gave up a hit to three of the last four batters he faced, including a solo home run by Josh Willingham. ... It was Tepesch's first start since being hit on the right wrist/forearm area by a line drive against Seattle, knocking him out of the game in the second inning. ... Tepesch is getting it done with ground balls. He has recorded 39 ground-ball outs against 15 fly outs for a 72.2 ground ball percentage. ... He also hasn't been walking anyone and will look to build on a 19⅓ consecutive innings streak without a base on balls. ... He is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA and just six hits allowed in two home starts.

Sale (2-2, 4.09 ERA): Sale, one of the top young pitchers in baseball, makes his sixth start of the season. ... He won his last outing against Tampa Bay, allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings. He had seven strikeouts and four walks. ... Sale has pitched at least seven innings in four of his five starts. ... He has a 3.20 ERA since the start of the 2012 season, the fifth-lowest mark in the American League. ... Sale is 2-1 with a 3.71 ERA in six games, including two starts, against the Rangers. ... He won his previous start at Texas, allowing five runs and six hits in 6⅓ innings ... He is 1-0 with a 7.04 ERA in three appearances at Rangers Ballpark. ... His fastball velocity averages 92.2 mph this season ... He also throws a slider and a changeup.

Hitters: Tepesch faces the White Sox for the first time in his career. Adrian Beltre (4-for-8) and Nelson Cruz (3-for-6, 1 HR, 3 RBIs) have had success against Sale.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A.J. Pierzynski could very well get another day off Wednesday as he rests a sore oblique muscle.

PODCAST
Ron Washington joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss Yu Darvish, the Rangers' recent losses and if the notion that the team looked fatigued is warranted this early in the season. Listen

On Saturday, No. 2 and 3 hitters Elvis Andrus and Lance Berkman had a scheduled day off. Berkman was given time off in the cold weather in Chicago a few weeks ago.

Rangers manager Ron Washington is serious about giving his regulars more time off during the season. Washington said in the days after the Rangers were eliminated by Baltimore in the AL wild-card game that he wished he had given his everyday players more rest. The Rangers lost 10 of 14 games and were swept by Oakland to end the 2012 season.

Third baseman Adrian Beltre was among five Rangers who played in at least 156 games. Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz and Andrus all played in the most games of their careers.

"My regulars were healthy and they were able to go out there, but if I can look back now maybe I could have done something in the middle of the season where I could have given them some time down," Washington said in post-mortemum news conference last October. "My everyday guys, I rode them, man."

Andrus, Beltre and Kinsler all had full days off in April. Veterans Pierzynski and Berkman have had a combined 10 games off. Washington has avoiding using regulars in pinch-hitting situations to make sure his players get a full day off.

The Rangers are off to another great start. Washington's approach could help bring a stronger finish.

Let's talk: Washington continues to get positive results when he makes a rare visit to the mound to talk to a pitcher. The skipper went to talk to reliever Robbie Ross after he hit Adam Dunn and fell behind Paul Konerko in the top of the ninth with two outs and a 10-6 lead. Ross responded by getting Konerko to ground out to end the game.

Jim Bowden takes a look at this year's standout rookie class, dominated by pitchers -- including Nick Tepesch, Justin Grimm and Joe Ortiz of the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers have this April thing down.

The Rangers won for the 17th time Tuesday night, beating the Chicago White Sox 10-6, and have gone three consecutive Aprils with at least 16 wins. It's the third time in club history they've won 17 games in April. The 1989 Rangers -- with new acquisitions Nolan Ryan, Rafael Palmeiro and Julio Franco -- faded and finished 83-79. Last year's Rangers were 17-6 in April and reached the American League wild-card game.

The 1998 Rangers are the only team in club history to top that, going 18-7 in April. They went on to win the club's second AL West title before losing to the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series.

Pitching carried the Rangers this April. They have a 3.14 ERA, best in baseball. Yu Darvish was 5-0, with all the wins coming after Rangers losses. The offense was inconsistent but might be re-energized after Tuesday's 10-run outburst, which was sparked by the continued surge of Mitch Moreland and a two-run home run by Adrian Beltre.

"We're a good team. We're a very good team," Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler said. "We have a lot of guys on this team that love to win and love to play baseball. We work hard, and when you have that and you win, it snowballs. We're a good team, and we're going to continue to play good baseball and see what happens."

Other notes:

1. Opening wins: The Rangers won their eighth straight series opener going back to their loss to Houston on opening night. The Rangers have been able to grind through the schedule because of it. They are 17-0-3 in their past 20 series when winning the opener.

2. Cruising in April: Nelson Cruz carried the Rangers in the last two weeks of the month. He hit safely in nine of 12 games, and batted .364 with five home runs and 15 RBIs. He sparked the Rangers again Tuesday night with a two-out home run to left field to cut Chicago's lead to 2-1. White Sox starter Jose Quintana, who had allowed two hits before Cruz's homer, gave up five hits to the next nine Rangers batters.

3. Beltre breaks out: Beltre snapped an 0-for-11 stretch with runners in scoring position with a two-run home run to cap a six-run sixth inning. Manager Ron Washington proved prophetic, having said on "Fitzsimmons and Durrett" on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM on Tuesday that Beltre would do something big in his fourth at-bat. The manager knows.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- About Rangers' first baseman Mitch Moreland. And an offense not hitting with runners in scoring position.

The Rangers took a while to heat up Tuesday night, staring at a 2-0 deficit until the bottom of the fourth inning. Back-to-back home runs by Nelson Cruz and Jeff Baker served as the spark. Moreland's third hit of the night was the dagger in the Rangers' 10-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Moreland has quietly turned his season around in the last nine games, hitting .429 to raise his batting average to a season-high .267. He's hit in five straight games. On Tuesday, Moreland reached based all four times, getting three more hits, all against left-handers.

Moreland's big blow started the Rangers' six-run sixth inning. With one out and Geovany Soto on first base, Moreland smoked a scorching line drive up the left-center field alley off left-handed reliever Donnie Veal. The ball was hit so hard, with some tailing action, that White Sox left fielder Alejandro De Aza never had a chance. Soto scored from first for a 5-4 lead. The Rangers scored five more runs on an Ian Kinsler RBI, two wild pitches and a two-run home run by Adrian Beltre.

"He [Moreland] hasn't been keeping the bat on his shoulders," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He's confident that he has a dangerous bat and he let it fly."

Moreland's early season struggles against lefties are behind him. He is 7-for-17 with five doubles against left-handers in the last seven games. He's handled Jason Vargas, Scott Diamond and now Jose Quintana. Moreland and right-handed hitting Jeff Baker, who is crushing lefties, were the only two Rangers with a pair of hits off Quintana.

Moreland has never wavered in his approach, whether it's a lefty or righty. He didn't look at the numbers while he started 1-for-18 against southpaws.

"I really didn't," Moreland said. "I tried to separate the numbers from what's going on at the plate. I've been putting myself in a position where I've been hitting the ball hard."

Moreland and the Rangers were 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position. That after the club batted .194 in those situations for the seven games in Anaheim and Minnesota. Kinsler had two hits Tuesday night, upping his average to .394 with runners in scoring position.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Yu Darvish wins after a Rangers' loss. He wins when he's not as his best.

Again on Tuesday night, he was the Rangers' ace.

Darvish found a way to get through six innings in Tuesday's 10-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox, overcoming a hanging breaking ball that No. 9 hitter Dewayne Wise hit for a game-tying two-run homer in the top of the sixth.

Darvish bounced back with his ninth strikeout of the game, fanning Alejandro De Aza on a slider. Then Darvish took a seat in the Rangers' dugout and watched as his offense put up six runs to give him his fifth victory in April.

"He's a pitcher," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He finds something in his repertoire of pitches to find a way to get outs."

On Tuesday, that pitch was his four-seam fastball, which helped Darvish throw four shutouts innings after allowing two runs in the first. Darvish had five of his nine strikeouts during that stretch, upping his American League-leading total to 58.

Darvish allowed a season-high four runs and still boosted his record to 5-0 this season after a Rangers' loss. He's now 12-3 for his career in that situation. That's an ace.

He also became the sixth pitcher in club history to win five games in April and the first to do it since Aaron Sele and Rick Helling both pulled it off in 1998. An ace-like start.

Darvish might well have escaped the top of the first unscathed had Nelson Cruz tracked down a fly ball headed for the right-field corner. Instead it eluded Cruz's outstretched glove and Tyler Greene had a one-out triple. The White Sox turned that into two runs, but Darvish avoided giving up a big inning with a strikeout of shortstop Alexei Ramirez on a slider with runners at second and third to end the inning.

Teams have to get to Darvish in the first inning. He's allowed seven of his 10 runs in the opening frame. Even with the first-inning hiccup, and the Wise home run, Darvish ended up a winner Tuesday night.

The ace delivers yet again for the Rangers.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers overcame a slow start by both Yu Darvish and their bats to pound the Chicago White Sox 10-6 on Tuesday night at Rangers Ballpark. Texas has won seven of its past eight games at home.

Moreland coming alive: Mitch Moreland has been the Rangers' hottest hitter over the past week and he continued his surge against the White Sox. Moreland was 3-for-3, including a line-drive double to left field off a left-handed reliever, Donnie Veal, to give the Rangers a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Moreland's three hits were against left-handed pitchers, boosting his season average to .243 against southpaws.

Kinsler drives them in: The Rangers might be struggling with runners in scoring position, but leadoff hitter Ian Kinsler isn't. He had two more RBI hits Tuesday, one to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth, and another a key insurance run with two outs in the sixth inning. Kinsler is up to .391 for the season with runners in scoring position. He is 4-for-11 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

Six-run sixth: The Rangers snapped a 4-4 tie, then broke the game open with a six-run sixth inning. They scored in a variety of ways. The aforementioned RBI double by Moreland and RBI single by Kinsler gave them a 6-4 lead. The Rangers loaded the bases and then White Sox reliever Nate Jones had a forgettable three-pitch sequence. He threw consecutive wild pitches to score Kinsler and Elvis Andrus. Adrian Beltre then snapped out of his slump with a two-run home run to left field for a 10-4 lead.

Back-to-back: The Rangers woke up a quiet crowd with back-to-back home runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Nelson Cruz, who has carried the offense, broke through against White Sox starter Jose Quintana with his sixth home run of the season, a sky-high shot to left field. Jeff Baker, who has played his way into the lineup on a regular basis against right-handed starters, tied the game at 2-2 with a 434-foot home run to center field, his second of the season.

Taking advantage: The Rangers jumped on a mistake by the White Sox in the bottom of the fifth. Craig Gentry grounded into a fielder's choice and advanced to second on a throwing error by Chicago second baseman Tyler Greene. It worked essentially as a sacrifice, with a faster runner, Gentry, ending up at second instead of Moreland. Kinsler gave the Rangers the lead with a double inside the third-base bag. Andrus followed with a single up the middle for a 4-2 lead.

Darvish settles in: Darvish allowed two runs in the first inning on four hits. The first one, a one-out triple by Greene, should have been caught by Cruz in right field. The White Sox jumped on the opening. Alex Rios and Konerko had RBI singles to snap Darvish's 19-inning scoreless streak.

Hanging curveball: Darvish was settled in until the top of the sixth, when he had a lead-off walk and later failed to execute a 3-6-1 double play as he wasn't able to keep his foot on the first-base bag. The Rangers paid for it as No. 9 hitter Dewayne Wise connected with a hanging curveball for a two-run homer to tie the game 4-4. Wise had two hits in 22 at-bats entering Tuesday. He had three hits in three at-bats versus Darvish and was 4-for-4 for the night.

Walk-up crowd: Darvish is drawing fans to the ballpark. The Rangers had 4,000 fans walk up and purchase tickets Tuesday night as the stadium filled in nicely in the early innings. The final crowd total was 40,646.

Scheppers streak ends: Tanner Scheppers relieved Darvish in the top of the seventh and quickly saw his scoreless innings streak to start the season end. Scheppers allowed a two-out home run to Adam Dunn, ending the right-hander's streak at 12⅔ innings.

Up next: A pair of 24-year-old pitchers face off Wednesday night when Rangers right-hander Nick Tepesch (2-1, 2.52) faces White Sox left-hander Chris Sale (2-2, 4.09 ERA) at 7:05 p.m. on ESPN-FM 103.3 FM and 1540-AM.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Randy Wells has retired after going winless in five starts this season for the Texas Rangers' Triple-A team.

The Rangers said Tuesday that Wells' retirement was effectively immediately.

In 98 career games in the majors from 2008-12, all but one with the Cubs, Wells was 28-32 with a 4.08 ERA. He was 1-2 in 12 games last season for Chicago, but became a free agent after refusing a minor league assignment.

The 30-year-old Wells went to spring training with the Rangers as a non-roster invitee. The right-hander was 0-4 with a 6.08 ERA for Round Rock.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels says Wells indicated he "just didn't have the same level of desire" to pitch any more.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Struggling prospects Mike Olt and Cody Buckel began their search Tuesday for what's behind their shockingly poor starts to the season.

PODCAST
Tanner Scheppers joins Matt Mosley and Chuck Cooperstein to discuss pitching for the Rangers and what it's like watching Yu Darvish. Listen

Olt, the Rangers' second-highest ranked prospect behind shortstop Jurickson Profar, saw team doctors Tuesday after informing club officials he was having issues with his vision. It could be as simple as the Triple-A Round Rock infielder needing contacts or glasses, general manager Jon Daniels said, or it could be something more. Daniels didn't have a diagnosis for Olt before the Rangers' game Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox.

Buckel, a right-handed pitcher who has been having issues with his control at Double-A Frisco, was moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen Tuesday. Buckel, the club's eighth-best prospect, has 25 walks in 18 innings. He had three walks and didn't record an out in his most recent start, against Corpus Christi on Saturday.

Olt's vision problems might help explain why he's off to a dismal start. Olt, a career .282 hitter in the minors entering the season, entered Tuesday batting .139 in 72-bats and has one home run after tying for the Texas League lead with 28 home runs last year.

"It would make sense if that's what has developed," Daniels said Tuesday.

Buckel heads to the bullpen after not pitching more than three innings in his five starts this season. He had a season-high six walks in three innings at San Antonio on April 22 and has walked at least five in three other starts.

Buckel will take up some innings in what has been a dominant bullpen in Frisco. But Daniels said the club thought it was better that Buckel sort things out in Double-A rather than at extended spring training.

"It's nothing physical with Cody," Daniels said. "He's been scuffling all season."

Both Olt's and Buckel's names came up in trade talks during the offseason.

Other Rangers notes:

Baker in, Murphy out: Jeff Baker got the start in left field against White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana, giving struggling starter David Murphy an extra day off. Murphy, batting .176 with two home runs, has a track record that says he will get his bat going.

"He's missing pitches that he usually gets," manager Ron Washington said.

Murphy and third baseman Adrian Beltre both have started slow. Beltre is batting .221 with four home runs and only nine RBIs.

"You know their track record is there," Washington said. "You just have to be patient."

More on Beltre: Beltre said Tuesday that he's not concerned with his slow start, noting he always has been a warm-weather player. Beltre is batting .107 with runners in scoring position.

"I know I'm going to be OK," Beltre said. "I would say I've been average. There hasn't been a time when I've felt great and there's not a period where I've felt terrible."

Randy Wells retires: Veteran pitcher Randy Wells, who has been at Triple-A Round Rock, has retired, Daniels said Tuesday. Daniels said the 30-year-old Wells told club officials that he didn't have the same level of desire for the game.

It's Joseph Ortiz: The Rangers said Tuesday that reliever Joe Ortiz has been asked to be called Joseph Ortiz from this point forward. Ortiz has allowed runs in his past three appearances, but the Rangers didn't provide that as the reason he is going with Joseph.