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ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Rangers' bullpen couldn't hold a lead late and Texas lost a tough one. The club had more defensive issues and wasn't able to get C.J. Wilson a win that he deserved. Texas was 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The Angels beat the Dodgers, meaning there is a tie on top of the AL West.

* Wilson sure looked like an All-Star on Sunday. He was locating his breaking pitches well, working off good fastball command and getting plenty of ground balls. Wilson had nine strikeouts, mixing things up with two strikes. He got Brett Hayes on a cutter low and away. He struck out Mike Stanton with a high fastball. He induced a swinging strikeout on a slider to Logan Morrison. It was precision at its best. He deserved a win but didn't get one after Florida took the lead off the Rangers' bullpen in the eighth.

* Wilson did the bullpen a major favor. The relief corps had to go all but the first two outs in Saturday's game, a heavy 8 1/3-inning workload. Wilson made sure they got a a bit of a break Sunday.

* But when they were needed, they couldn't get the job done. The Rangers needed four pitchers to get through the eighth. Mark Lowe came on for Wilson with one out and a runner at third. He got a ground ball to third to keep the tying run at third base. But after walking Gaby Sanchez, Lowe couldn't get to a chopper over the mound by Hanley Ramirez. It was scored an error on Elvis Andrus (I thought it was a hit), but it tied the score.

* Lowe also tried a first-to-third pickoff play and it appeared it would work, but Lowe hesitated and didn't get the runner at first. Gaby Sanchez was too far off first base and was still able to get back. That hurt.

* That brought in Darren Oliver, who allowed a double to Logan Morrison to score two more runs and give the Marlins the lead.

* Neftali Feliz came in with the Rangers down two runs in the eighth, certainly an odd time for him to come to the mound. He gave up an 0-2 single to Mike Stanton to score another run and then the inning finally ended when Yorvit Torrealba threw out Stanton at second trying to steal. Feliz gave up another single in the ninth to Emilio Bonifacio which allowed Wes Helms to score from second.

* Manager Ron Washington was ejected for the second time in the last week (and season) and it happened after he came out of the dugout following the ejection of first base coach Gary Pettis in the seventh. Nelson Cruz was thrown out on a pickoff move that Pettis probalby felt was a balk. First base umpire Angel Hernandez ejected Pettis. That brought Washington out and after he argued, he was tossed. It was also Pettis' second ejection of the season, the other on April 17.

* The ejection left 72-year-old Jackie Moore as the manager, meaning the combined ages of the managers in the game at that point went up to 152. (Jack McKeon of Florida is 80).

* Nelson Cruz hit his 20th homer of the season, a 409-foot shot to left field in the second. Cruz belted a 2-1 curveball into the seats. Cruz is now just two homers shy of his 2010 total. He has hit those 20 homers in 66 games (250 at-bats). That's the quickest he's reached 20 homers in his career. It took him until the 93rd game in 2010 and the 75th game in 2009, when he hit a career-high 33 homers. This is the third straight season of at least 20 homers for Cruz.

* Beltre hit a 400-foot homer to right and it hit the back wall of the Rangers bullpen. It was Beltre's 15th homer of the season. And it was a no-doubter despite no real jet stream. RF Mike Stanton took one step and then just turned his head, not even bothering to jog toward the warning track. That was a hard shot.

* Mitch Moreland and David Murphy are still struggling right now. Moreland is 5-for-38 in his last 11 games. He did have good swings and hung in during a tough at-bat in the fourth, though he struck out on a 3-2 breaking ball. He also had a long fly ball that was caught at the wall in center. He worked a 2-2 count in the ninth with Cruz on second but grounded out to short. Murphy is 5-or-34 in his last 12 games and is hitting .233. He did have an RBI triple in the ninth but also had an error in left field on Gaby Sanchez's single (I think Sanchez would have had a double whether Murphy caught in cleanly or not) earlier in the game.

* The Rangers announced 46,092, the eighth sellout of the season. Texas had seven sellouts all of last year. BTW, there were 8,000 tickets available for July 4 game as of late Sunday night.

* Wilson tried to grab a chopper with his bare hand off the bat Emilio Bonifacio, who led off the game. The out was recorded 1-4-3, but it meant manager Ron Washington, pitching coach Mike Maddux and athletic trainer Jamie Reed had to come out to check on Wilson. He was fine and stayed in the game. But Rangers pitchers have been trying to make defensive plays barehanded lately. It's just instinct, but it's way too risky.

* All of the scoreboards in the ballpark turned off and the audio failed before Hamilton's at-bat in the bottom of the eighth. The audio issues were fixed before the bottom of the ninth and the scoreboard came back on in time for the last out of the game.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Join us for a live in-game chat as the Rangers take on the Marlins in the final game of this three-game series. We'll talk All-Star Game, Rangers news, Wimbledon, July 4 and anything else you got. Come in the room and chat with us. It's now open for you to participate in polls and ask early questions.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rangers starter Derek Holland gave up five runs and couldn't get out of the first inning, and the club had some defensive breakdowns in a 9-5 loss. They did battle back with home runs but couldn't completely dig out of the early hole. Some quick thoughts (more to come from the clubhouse):

* Holland became the first Rangers pitcher to have a start of less than an inning without an injury or ejection causing the early exit since Brandon McCarthy on Sept. 11, 2007 against Detroit. That one was also two-thirds of an inning. It was the shorest outing of Holland's career. He lasted just one inning in Minnesota last May, but that was because of injury.

* Holland was throwing primarily fastballs -- 26 of his first 30 pitches were fastballs -- and wasn't locating them well. It wasn't until after Hanley Ramirez's grand slam that Holland started trying to throw more changeups and curve balls. But none of it was consistent. He gave up five runs on four hits with two walks and one strikeout and left after a long chat with manager Ron Washington. He fell behind in the count and then when he tried to find the strike zone, he threw some over the middle of the plate where the Marlins could hit it.

* The short outing forced Washington to put Tommy Hunter in the game because the club was working today's game without many other long-relief options. Dave Bush was DFA'd Friday to get Hunter on the roster and Michael Kirkman, who pitched last night, was optioned to Triple-A before Saturday's game when Darren O'Day was activated. So despite pitching the ninth in his last minor-league outing, Hunter was out there in the first inning Saturday.

And his 2011 debut was a good one. Hunter helped save part of the bullpen by going into the sixth inning. He took a ball off his right foot that turned into an infield hit for Emilio Bonifacio. He allowed two runs, one unearned. The earned run was after Hunter's only walk. He left the game with the bases loaded and the run scored on a sacrifice fly off a pitch from O'Day. The Rangers confirmed during the game that Hunter was fine. No issue with the ball off his foot.

* O'Day didn't have the kind of first outing back he'd hoped. He gave up back-to-back homers to Ramirez and Logan Morrison in the seventh, just after the Rangers had closed the gap to two runs. O'Day left two pitches up and both hitters made him pay for it.

* For the second time this season, catcher Yorvit Torrealba had two errors in one inning. He did it thanks in part to fatigue and dehydration in Atlanta a few weeks ago. He did it again in the second inning Saturday because of two throws. He was charged with an errant throw to first on a bunt hit attempt and then on a bouncer to second as the runner stole the base (runner was credited with stolen base, went to third on E2). In fairness, the second error was more a product of shortstop Elvis Andrus, who needed to block the throw better knowing it wasn't going to get there in time anyway.

* The Rangers' defense had a tough night. Besides the errors, the club didn't execute a rundown well in the third. Hunter snagged a hard-hit ball back to the mound but then immediately threw to Adrian Beltre at third to start a rundown with the runner at second. But if Hunter runs at the runner, he forces the runner at first to think twice about getting to second. Instead, the lead runner (Morrison) was able to stay in the rundown long enough for Mike Stanton to get to second. It didn't end up costing the Rangers a run, but it's another example of the defense not executing things properly.

* The Rangers bats got going some in the third. Solo home runs by Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton cut into the Marlins' six-run lead. Kinsler now has 12 homers on the year, three more than all of last season. Kinsler has hit four homers in his last five games after hitting just three in the previous 55 games.

* Hamilton hit his second homer of the night and his 10th of the season in the fifth. That homer was an opposite-field shot to left, going 370 feet. It was the fourth multi-homer game of his career and his first since Sept. 2009 (vs. Toronto). It was also the fourth multi-homer game by a Ranger this season. The two-run shot cut the deficit to 6-4.

* Craig Gentry stole second base in the sixth. He later scored on dropped popup off the bat of Kinsler. Gentry is 10-for-10 on stolen bases this season. Kinsler ended up only at first base, thinking the ball would be caught. He ended up stealing second with two outs and Andrus at the plate. It appeared the ball came out of Ramirez's glove, but it never actually went in his glove. Umpire called out and then safe (but Kinsler was never really out to begin with).

* Mitch Moreland has struggled lately. He was 0-for-4 Saturday and is 5-for-34 in his last 10 games.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Join us for another in-game chat during tonight's Rangers-Marlins game. We'll talk about the All-Star Game, the second half of the season (it's officiallly started already), trades and anything else you want to discuss. See you when the first pitch is thrown (7:05 p.m. on FSSW and ESPN 103.3 FM).

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Alexi Ogando looked much better, closer to the pitcher that was so impressive to start the season and not the one we've seen the last few outings. The offense was productive and the club seemed to have everything going its way from balls hitting the chalk to fly balls getting past outstretched gloves. Some quick thoughts (more to come from the clubhouse):

* Ogando threw more sliders and changeups, especially early in the game, and settled in quickly. He didn't allow a baserunner until a leadoff walk in the fifth and lost his no-hit bid that same inning. He had good fastball command but was able to complement that with the off-speed and breaking pitches. The entire package was one that had the Marlins' offense guessing.

* Ogando needed a good start after pitching a total of 9 2/3 innings in his last three starts. He just struggled in those and didn't have command early, getting into trouble and allowing big innings.

* Ogando couldn't get through the seventh. He allowed two runs on three straight hits in the seventh inning and then walked Dewayne Wise, ending his night after 6 2/3 innings pitched. He got a nice hand from the fans and tipped his cap on the way out. He had a career-high eight strikeouts. I was actually a little surprised Ogando didn't come out of the game earlier, but he ended up with 102 pitches (and most were stress-free). That should provide a nice confidence boost for him.

* Nelson Cruz had a nice birthday game, pounding out a homer and a triple for six RBIs. The homer was his 19th of the season. Cruz did it on an 0-2 pitch to drive in three runs in the third, turning a 2-0 game into a 5-0 game. That was his second homer on an 0-2 pitch this season. It went to left-center, a sign that Cruz was willing to go with the pitch to the opposite field. Cruz now has four homers in his last six home games. He was 1-for-8 in Houston. Cruz is the 15th different player in Rangers history to homer on his birthday.

* Eight of the Rangers' 15 runs were scored with two outs. That's something new hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh has been stressing and the club came through tonight.

* Taylor Teagarden had a good night. He called a nice game for Ogando, mixing up pitches and helping keep the Marlins' hitters off-balance. And he had two doubles and a single with a run scored and an RBI. The three hits matches his career high set one other time.

* Adrian Beltre was just 2-for-13 in Houston but had a strong showing Friday. He had three hits, including a two-RBI double down the first-base line to make it 7-0 in the fourth. Beltre's double came with two outs and his RBI single in the third was with two strikes. In fact, all four of Beltre's RBIs on the night came with two outs. It was Beltre's eighth game with at least three RBIs this season.

* Ian Kinsler walked in the third inning. He has a team-high 51 walks. Kinsler was seventh in the AL in walks coming into the game. Kinsler came out of the game in the sixth, probably just to get a break. Andres Blanco came in for him.

* Josh Hamilton had a productive night. He was on base his first four times, scoring two runs. He had an RBI double that hit the chalk down the left-field line. He also walked twice, once intentionally, and had a single and scored a run in the third. Hamilton showed his speed, going from first to third on Beltre's single in the third. He made a head-first slide to get in just ahead of the tag.

* Yoshinori Tateyama came in and got a strikeout to end the seventh inning. With two outs in the eighth, he passed the ball to Michael Kirkman, who got a strikeout to end the eighth. Kirkman stayed in to get through the ninth, in which he gave up three runs. One came on an error by Beltre (tough hop, but one he usually gets). That was Beltre's 11th error this season, second-most on the club.

* Ron Washington will pick the All-Star team, probably by noon Saturday. More on that on the blog tomorrow morning.

* Brandon Webb was scratched from his Triple-A rehab start Friday with shoulder discomfort.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Join us for a live in-game chat as the Rangers take on the Marlins. We'll be chatting all weekend long. We can talk Rangers, All-Star Game, trade deadline and anything else that comes up. Join us!

With the Florida Marlins in town for a weekend series, the oldest manager in the big leagues, 80-year old Jack McKeon, brings his slumping team into Arlington.

Rangers manager Ron Washington talks fondly of McKeon, who is managing the Marlins for the second-time in his career.

"Matching wits with Jack? I could never match wits with Jack," Washington said. "All I could do is hope my players out play his players."

When Washington was just 18, he played for the Kansas City Royals Baseball Academy in 1970 and the Triple-A manger for the Royals at that time was McKeon.

Washington, who signed as a catcher, but eventually moved to the infield, backed up Buck Martinez in spring training.

"Jack liked young kids that he thought could play, and he thought I could play," Washington said.

The Rangers manager learned how to be a professional by watching McKeon and he uses some of them the things he learned in his early years in the minor leagues to the big leagues.

"It did help me and it gave me that type of experience that I needed as a young man," Washington said. "Darn right it did."

There was some question as to why McKeon would come out of retirement and manage again given his age. Washington said it's no big deal because the love of the game takes over more than anything.

"Still energized," Washington said of McKeon. "I think I saw him in an interview say he's not 80-years old. Age might say it, but he's not. Jack loves the game of baseball and I don't think he would have come back in the dugout if he didn't feel like he could handle it. It would be nice to see Jack again."

The Rangers are not giving up on starter Alexi Ogando.

But it seems Friday night's start vs. the Florida Marlins might be his last outing before the All Star break unless he breaks out of this three-game slide he's been in.

He's scheduled to make one more start, but if he doesn't fare well here, then some decisions have to be made.

"I don't think I will have a problem," Ogando said through an interpreter on Thursday. "I was missing my spots and my locations that's what I was trying to fix in my bullpen sessions and that's where I think the problems are."

After a 7-0 start where talk developed he could make the All Star team, Ogando struggled. He's 0-3 with a 9.31 ERA in which he's given up 10 earned runs over 9 2/3 innings of work. He hasn't reached past the fifth inning in any of those starts.

With Scott Feldman and possibly Tommy Hunter working their way back from injuries down in rehab stints, Ogando's status seems tenuous.

"We'll obviously give him another start," team president Nolan Ryan said. "We know he can pitch out of the bullpen. He's been awfully important as a starter to us this year and predicting he would go back to the bullpen is premature. When those other guys get back, we'll see how those guys are performing, then we'll have some decisions to make."

Ogando has four pitches, four seam and two seam fastball, slider and changeup. Ogando was sticking with just two pitches, fastball and slider and not throwing hitters off with something soft.

"Nobody has asked me to do anything different," he said. "I rely on my fastball, two seamer and the other pitches."

The Rangers have confidence in Ogando's abilities because of what they've seen the first half of the year. Despite the struggles, he's still among the AL leaders in ERA (ninth at 2.87), opponents average (ninth at .217) and slugging percentage (seventh at .320). Right handers are hitting a major-league low .151 against him.

With all that, what's the problem?

*He's not hitting his spots inside the strike zone which keeps hitters from extending themselves to get good swings at the plate. "All pitchers should work inside as much as they possibly can," manager Ron Washington said.

*The heat. He needed an IV after a short outing vs. the Atlanta Braves last Sunday. The humidity got to him and he threw 103 pitches in just five innings of work. He gave up three runs, one earned, in that effort, so defense also hurt him.

*Hitters are making adjustments. As a first-year starter, Ogando was able to surprise opponents, but after a few starts, scouts were able to get a better report on him and now add in his mistakes, it's leading to some issues. Washington said Ogando is making adjustments on the mound.

The Rangers insist Ogando is not hurt or tired, in fact he said, "I don't feel pressure at all physcially. I feel good. I don't feel mentally or physically affected. Sometimes things aren't going the right way but nobody is perfect."

With the Florida Marlins coming to town for a three-game series, Joe Capozzi, Marlins beat writer for the Palm Beach Post (and a guy who had to jump on a 6 a.m. flight out of San Francisco to get to Texas in time to cover today's action) answered a few questions for us about the Marlins. Here goes:

Q: Can you give us an overall assessment of the Marlins? Why did they struggle so much in June?

JC: The Marlins went 5-23 in June -- the worst month in franchise history -- for a variety of reasons. The main culprit was offense. They struggled earlier to hit with runners in scoring position, which is why John Mallee was fired in early June. That firing stunned players, which I think was the reason they continued their tailspin.

Q: How have players reacted to the managerial change?

JC: Manager Jack McKeon has been a positive slap in the face to a team that was often coddled by mild-mannered Edwin Rodriguez. While players were not happy with Mallee's firing, they have come around in the last week and praised McKeon for his old-school approach.

Q: What's the latest on Josh Johnson? Any idea when he might return? Would the Marlins entertain trading him?

JC: Josh Johnson's absence also factors into the June swoon. The starters are 8-17 since his last start. And now he has been pushed back because of shoulder soreness. They hoped he'd return July 16; now it's looking more like August. I do not think they will trade him. They consider him a franchise marquee face.

Q: Who is the offensive MVP of the club so far this season? Who's the best pitcher?

JC: Gaby Sanchez is the offensive MVP (even though he had a rough June) and Anibal Sanchez is their new ace.

Q: Give us a quick scouting report on the starters we'll see this weekend in Arlington.

JC: You will see Anibal on Friday. This is his second injury-free season -- he was bothered by shoulder issues most of his caeer up until last year -- and the results are paying off. He has allowed four earned runs over his three starts.

Javier Vazquez (Sunday) has been on a nice roll, with an ERA around 1.00 over his last three starts. Nice bounce back for a guy who looked horrible up until June.

The Marlins will call up a minor league pitcher to start Saturday -- either Double-A LHP Brad Hand or Triple-A righty Elih Villanueva. Both were up earlier and both got hit around, although Hand was effective in his first start.

Q: Who's been the biggest surprise this season? The biggest disappointment?

JC: Biggest disappointment is Hanley Ramirez (.221, 5 HR, 24 RBIs). Biggest surprise is probably Greg Dobbs who is htting .300 and playing more often than he has at any point in his career. He was supposed to be a bench player but has gotten lots of playing time, mainly plugging in a hole at 3B.

HOUSTON -- After the Rangers took a commanding three-run lead with help from two Ian Kinsler home runs at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday night, it seemed as if the bats decided to let starter Colby Lewis do the rest of the work against the lowly Astros. Lewis did until the seventh inning, when he allowed two runs. But the Rangers' bullpen ended any more drama as Darren Oliver, Mark Lowe and Neftali Feliz closed the show on the Astros in a 3-2 victory.

The Rangers clinched the Lone Star series for the sixth consecutive time with the win. Texas has won four of five games against Houston this season, with the series finale coming Thursday night. The Rangers have also won eight consecutive games in this ballpark.

Bullpen saves the day:Before the game, Nolan Ryan was asked if he was concerned about the bullpen. Ryan said he wasn't worried bacause a few pitchers might be coming back from injury to help out and the current group was doing a pretty good job. The Rangers made Ryan's comments look good Wednesday night. Oliver relieved Lewis with one out in the seventh. With two on and two out, Oliver retired right-handed pinch-hitter Jason Michaels on a grounder to short. Oliver was brought in to pitch to left-handed Brian Bogusevic, but after he was announced, Astros manager Brad Mills went with Michaels. Oliver got himself out of a jam in the eighth. A leadoff single by Michael Bourn started things, but Oliver picked him off. One out later, manager Ron Washington asked right-hander Mark Lowe to seal the deal. Lowe struck out Hunter Pence on a pitch out of the strike zone to end the inning. When Lowe walked back to the dugout, Washington was on the top step clapping and gave his reliever a high-five and a slap on the chest. Feliz struck out the last two hitters he faced after walking Carlos Lee to start the ninth to earn his 16th save of the season. Feliz struck out Brett Wallace and catcher Yorvit Torrealba threw out Lee trying to steal second base to end the game.

Kinsler on a tear:Yes, it's only two games, but leadoff man Ian Kinsler has been hitting the ball well here. On Wednesday night, Kinsler went 2-for-4 with home runs in his first two at-bats (he homered in his last at-bat Tuesday). Kinsler got the offense going with a homer in the first, the fourth time this season he's done that and the 17th leadoff shot of his career. His third-inning homer, a rocket to left, gave him his eighth career two-homer game. Kinsler's second blast gave the Rangers a 3-0 lead. The second baseman came into the series with four hits in his last 22 at-bats, but through the first two games is 4-for-7 with five RBIs, three home runs, a triple and one walk.

Lewis with solid outing:Colby Lewis (7-7) put forth another strong outing and retired the Astros in order until a two-out single by Hunter Pence in the fourth inning. But Lewis retired eight of the next nine hitters he faced until Carlos Lee homered to left in the seventh to cut the Rangers' lead to 3-1. It was Lee's first homer since June 7. Lewis went 6 2/3 innings and left with a 3-2 lead. He gave up two runs -- both earned -- on six hits and struck out six. It was the third consecutive start Lewis left with the lead.

Probables for Florida Marlins series:
Friday: Alexi Ogando vs. Anibal Sanchez
Saturday: Derek Holland vs. TBA
Sunday: C.J. Wilson vs. Javier Vazquez.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Before Game 5 of the ALCS, when Matt Treanor would get behind the plate to catch C.J. Wilson for a chance to clinch the American League pennant, he was asked if this was the biggest game of his career.

He quickly responded, no.

"To be honest, every game this year has been the biggest game of my career," the 34-year-old Treanor said. "I started the year in the minors."

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The Rangers' secondary catcher hit his first career postseason home run in the game and also knocked in the Texas Rangers' only other run in the loss, but his performance further illustrated just how valuable the unheralded catcher has been to the club this season.

Of all the trades that general manager Jon Daniels has produced to help propel Texas to its first World Series, perhaps the most overlooked one is the deal that quietly and shrewdly went down on March 22: The Rangers sent infielder Ray Olmedo to the Milwaukee Brewers for a backup catcher most fans in North Texas probably had never heard of before.

And if things had went as planned, they likely still wouldn't. Treanor was sent to Triple-A Oklahoma after spring training, another dose of hard reality for a player who's had to scrap for every inning he's played in the big leagues.

"You know you what, I kind of embraced my situation this year," Treanor said. "I knew that I was going to have to battle and there might have been a situation where the club would need me. It so happened that after game one or game two [of the regular season] I was called up and asked to fill a position."

Jarrod Saltalamacchia got injured out of the chute and backup Taylor Teagardencouldn't get comfortable swinging the bat. Treanor, affable, humble and hard-working, got the call up on April 9 and was behind the plate for the Rangers on April 11. It's been a two-way love affair ever since.

Now, the career journeyman who labored 10 years in the minor leagues before getting his shot with the Florida Marlins in 2004, will catch Wilson in their first World Series against the San Francisco Giants in Thursday's Game 2 at AT&T Park. It could be one of two starts with Wilson. Bengie Molina, acquired mid-seasoin, will handle the other pitchers.

"I can’t say enough about how important he’s been to our ballclub," third baseman and captain Michael Young said. "He might not get a lot of the publicity as some of our guys get, but if you ask everyone in our organization, top to bottom, and they’ll talk about what a massive impact Matt Treanor’s had on our team. He basically bailed us out early. He bailed out our catcher situation. He played hard, played hurt, was a leader, great clubhouse guy and just played extremely well. He’s a guy that we’re all really proud to call our teammate."

Treanor hit just .211, but he had some clutch shots -- who can forget the two-out, two-run, pinch-hit game-winning triple in the top of the ninth against his former Marlins during the team's longest win streak of the season? -- and he deftly handled a pitching staff in transition.

"He didn't make our club [out of spring training], but he committed himself to us," Washington said. "And because of the way things went early in the season with Salty and Teagarden, we were very fortunate that we had a guy of his standard to step in and continue to help our young pitching staff get through the season."

Treanor went on to post career highs for games played (82) -- starting a team-high 67 at catcher -- at-bats (237), runs (22), hits (50), homers (five), RBI (27) and walks (22). As Wilson's personal catcher in the postseason, Treanor's been remarkable getting on base with a team-best .545 on-base percentage in three games.

He has three hits in seven at-bats and has walked -- or limped -- to first base four other times, twice by walks and twice by getting plunked -- in consecutive at-bats -- in Game 2 of the ALDS. Both times he got hit to lead off the inning and both led to runs in the victory.

"Personally," Treanor said, "to be with a group of guys, not just in this situation in the postseason, but to be surrounded by this group all season where we were a true unit the whole year, it showed on the field and we got the wins."

Even when the club went out and acquired the veteran Molina in mid-season, Treanor accepted it and even welcomed it.

"Absolutely. He’s a guy that’s been in postseason play and I’m pretty sure that’s why they went to go look for him," Treanor said. "I’ve watched Bengie ever since he got here; the way he calls a game, the way he goes about his business, everything."

Don't believe him? The dog pile after clinching the ALCS pennant is proof.

"I’m on the bottom of the pile with him," Treanor said. "He was the first guy I’m looking for. I’m kissing him on the forehead. He had no idea what was going on."

So what exactly are the Rangers getting in terms of production at first base offensively over what they've had this season? ESPN Stats & Information (Michael Lynch) has some insight to the possible answer. Here's what the Rangers have had at first base offensively and what Cantu has done:

Rangers: .197 batting average, .296 on-base percentage, .315 slugging percentage, 8 HRs, 37 RBIs

Cantu: .259 batting average (he's batting .227 in July), .308 on-base percentage, .408 slugging percentage, 10 HRs, 54 RBIs.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- With Ian Kinsler on the DL with a groin pull, the Rangers finally had a catalyst to make a move to upgrade their infield.

Kinsler said he's happy with the result of the upgrade, new teammate Jorge Cantu.

"[Cantu] is a consistent bat," Kinsler said. "He's a guy who's going to give you a good at-bat and we're happy to get him. He's a good addition to our team."

The addition of the former Marlin will hope to fill what GM Jon Daniels called "one of the bigger holes" on the team, depth and possibly a consistent starter at first base.

But Daniels said it wasn't out of the question to have Cantu fill in for Kinsler at second.

"In normal circumstances, I don't think we'd be looking at [Cantu at second] so much," Daniels said. "The versatility having played the middle of the diamond in the past was kind of an attractive footnote, but it wasn't the reason we acquired him."

If Cantu is to take over at first base, he would be replacing Chris Davis. However, Davis said he's looking forward to Cantu joining the team.

"Hopefully [adding Cantu] means that I'll have more of a chance to adjust up here and get my feet underneath me," Davis said. "He's definitely the guy we were looking to get, and we got him."

The club announced the deal. It's Double-A prospects Evan Reed and Omar Poveda for Jorge Cantu and cash. Cantu is expected to join the Rangers in Anaheim on Friday.

The move gives the Rangers a right-handed bat that can play in place of Chris Davis at first base against lefties and a player that can step in for the injured Ian Kinsler at second base if needed. Kinsler was put on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin on Thursday, meaning the earliest he can return is Aug. 12. It's also worth noting that Mitch Moreland is starting at first base tonight. It will be interesting to see what roster move the club makes to get Cantu on the 25-man roster. Brandon McCarthy is going on the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man for Cantu.

Cantu, 28, is hitting .261 with 10 homers and 54 RBIs in 97 games this season. The McAllen, Texas, native has spent most of 2010 at third base, but has 42 at-bats at first base this season with 40 games played, seven of them starts.

Cantu has played a fair numbers of games at first the past few seasons. He also has experience at second base, though he hasn’t played the position since a few games in 2007. He did start in 103 games at second base for Tampa Bay in 2006.

Cantu is hitting .253 in 87 at-bats against left-handed pitching. Davis is just 4-for-27 against lefties this season.

Reed, a reliever, has pitched in 30 games (39 innings) for Double-A Frisco and has a 1.62 ERA with 34 strikeouts and 13 walks. Poveda hasn’t played this season and remains on the 60-day disabled list following Tommy John surgery. He was 11-5 with a 4.14 ERA in 22 starts (130 1/3 innings) for Frisco last season and also made one start in Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com reports the Rangers and Marlins are close to a deal in place for Jorge Cantu. Rosenthal tweeted this:

#Marlins' return for Cantu will be Double A RHP Evan Reed & Double A RHP Omar Poveda, who is on DL recovering from TJ surgery.

Remember, as reported here, sources told Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com the same thing on Monday. We'll let you when we hear something from either club. Cantu is still playing in an afternoon game for the Marlins, so no deal is officially done yet. Assuming this is the deal and that Florida is covering the remaining $2.18 million of Cantu's contract (and I have no reason to doubt Rosenthal), that seems reasonable on the Rangers' part. They gave away some decent prospects, but not top-tier guys to get a player in Cantu that can play first base and second base, which is important now that Ian Kinsler is on the DL.

UPDATE: Cantu was lifted in the eighth inning of the Marlins-Giants game for a pinch-runner.