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It was a 3-3 road trip over the past week prior to the Texas Rangers' off day on Thursday. So let's take stock of this team the past week:

STOCK UP

Adrian Beltre: He had three multi-hit games and hit .333 on the six-game road trip with a couple of homers. Beltre also started to run a little faster on the bases, perhaps indicating that his hamstring is feeling better.

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Rangers GM Jon Daniels discusses the team's recent struggles, the interest level in Roy Oswalt and more. Listen

Robbie Ross: He pitched 5 2/3 innings over the past eight days and didn't allow a run with two strikeouts and no walks. Opponents hit just .167 off him.

STOCK DOWN

Offense: What happened to the monster bats this past week? The Rangers, usually pushing the .290 mark in team average, hit just .244 over the six games on the road, scoring an average of 3.7 runs per game (nearly two runs fewer than normal) with just five homers. The clutch hits that helped this team to a fast start didn't come often the past six games. Will a return to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington help?

Walks: Base on balls have really hurt his pitching staff recently. Yu Darvish gave up six walks Monday and three of those runners came around to score. Matt Harrison was hurt by two walks in the first inning of his start in Seattle but recovered. Scott Feldman walked five and gave up a grand slam Wednesday. For the trip, Texas walked 25 batters. That accounts for nearly 20 percent of the club's total all season.

SEATTLE -- There's a package sitting near the entrance of the Rangers' clubhouse at Safeco Field with catcher Mike Napoli's name written on the outside of the box.

Inside the box are a number of Napoli's bats just waiting to be used at the plate, but he won't see an at-bat in Wednesday's game. He's got the day off with Yorvit Torrealba behind the plate.

Even if he did get a plate apperance, odds are it wouldn't be pretty, given his recent slump. Napoli said he doesn't feel comfortable at the plate recently. He's batting .210 (13-of-62) in May and slugging .290 with a .315 on-base percentage.

"Right now, I get in there and sometimes I feel good, sometimes I don’t," Napoli said. "More times, I don’t."

Rangers manager Ron Washington said it seems as if Napoli is consistently swinging at balls and not strikes. Napoli has at least one strikeout in 32 of 39 games played. He added to his total Tuesday with an 0-for-3, three strikeout performance. The sliver sombrero gives Napoli 49 strikeouts this season, which puts him in a tie for third in the American League with the Toronto Blue Jays' Kelly Johnson and the New York Yankees' Curtis Granderson.

"It takes time," Washington said. "Sometimes you’re in a funk and it just takes time. You just got to keep battling and all of a sudden one pitcher gives you an opportunity to feel good about yourself and then you’re rolling."

The numbers are similar to the season he had last year, when he struggled through May and June before landing on the disabled list with a strained left oblique muscle June 12. He went on to have a monster second half, posting a .386 batting average and slugging .706.

"You can ask any player and there's a part of the year that they struggle, and there's a part of the year that they know things are going to be right," Washington said. Maybe May is his time. It's only our second year with him. Maybe it's the time that he struggles and then he comes out of it."

Despite his woes at the plate, Napoli said the only thing keeping him sane is his play behind the plate. That was on display in Tuesday's 3-1 victory. After the game, pitcher Matt Harrison said he felt he was on the same page with Napoli, which helped him settle in after the first inning.

"There’s a lot of parts to the game he can play and if one of them isn’t working, just play the other one," Washington said. "He’s doing a good job with that."

Napoli isn't worried about his recent performance and knows it can take a few at-bats to feel comfortable again. He isn't giving up until he reaches that point.

"I’m going to keep grinding and going until I figure it out," Napoli said.

Notes: Thanks to Harrison's ability to eat up innings Tuesday, Washington said every pitcher is available from the bullpen after pitcher Scott Feldman. Harrison went seven innings and picked up the win due to two solid outings from Mike Adams in the eighth with two on and no outs and Joe Nathan in the ninth.

"Everyone is rested, so it's up to Feldman to take us as deep as he possibly can," Washington said.

The Rangers will finally get a day off Thursday after a stretch of 20 games.

SEATTLE -- Texas Rangers starter Matt Harrison knew he was off in the first inning, but he kept his cool. Coupled with some great defensive plays, Harrison was able cruise from then on to collect his second win this month, a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

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Rangers manager Ron Washington talks with Bryan Dolgin immediately following the Rangers 3-1 win in Seattle. Listen

Harrison ran into trouble early on after allowing his only two walks of the game. Alex Liddi got a free pass after a nine-pitch at-bat in the first and scored three batters later on a single by former Ranger Justin Smoak. Harrison followed that with an eight-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs, which brought pitching coach Mike Maddux out to the mound.

It took a one pitch, a 404-foot flyout from Casper Wells, to get Harrison out of the jam. Josh Hamilton made a leaping catch into the center field wall.

“I don’t what kind of catch he made, but he was able to run it down,” said Harrison, who threw 35 pitches in the first. “He’s an outstanding defensive player. It was great play to get me out of a jam. It could’ve been either way.”

Harrison said he thought he was overthrowing a bit during the inning, so he backed up on his fastball. He said it helped with his command and allowed him to settle in.

“I felt really good coming into the game,” Harrison said. “I felt like my arm felt the best today as it has all season.”

His defense was able to lend a helping hand. Harrison induced a double-play ball in the second to erase a leadoff single by Michael Saunders. And Hamilton made another leaping grab in the third, robbing Liddi of an extra base hit.

“He kept them in the big part of the field,” manger Ron Washington said. “It says 405 out there [in center field], but it plays like 445.”

Harrison said he had his best changeup of the season and was also able to work his curveball for strikes. Even with his first-inning struggles, Harrison was able to throw 75 of his 114 pitches for strikes and finished with six strikeouts.

“I thought he did a tremendous job after that first inning,” Washington said. “They fought him in that first inning pretty good and got his pitch count up. Then after that, he began to pound the strike zone.”

Washington left Harrison in the game in the eighth after he struck out Dustin Ackley to end the seventh, but Harrison gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning. Washington pulled Harrison with no outs, but Mike Adams came on and was able to leave Liddi and Ichiro Suzuki stranded on the bags.

“I had no doubt when I sent him out there and I had no doubt when I went and got him,” Washington said. “I felt good when I sent him out there. He was throwing the ball really good. It just didn’t work out.”

Washington will certainly take a one-run pitching performance, especially considering how it started and how Harrison's last two starts finished. Harrison lost his last two decisions before Tuesday’s game, allowing seven earned runs in 11 1/3 innings to the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels.

“I hope he understands what it takes to go deep in the ballgame,” Washington said. “That’s to make the opponents swing the bats and make that good defense behind you play.”

Matt Harrison pitched seven strong innings and Joe Nathan collected his 10th save as the Rangers evened the series with the Seattle Mariners at a game apiece with a 3-1 win Tuesday.

How it happened: Pitching was the key. Rangers starter Matt Harrison needed 35 pitches to get through a seven-batter first inning in which he gave up one run. Harrison needed just 26 pitches in the next three innings combined. He also had a stretch of nine straight batters retired end with a one-out double in the fifth inning. Harrison pitched into the eighth inning, and he left the game after giving up singles to the first two batters. Mike Adams inherited those two runners and retired the next three to hold the lead at 3-1. Joe Nathan closed the game for his 10th save.

PODCAST
Rangers manager Ron Washington talks with Bryan Dolgin immediately following the Rangers 3-1 win in Seattle. Listen

Seattle's finest: Harrison is now 7-1 in his career against the Mariners. His line Tuesday: 7-plus innings, seven hits, one run, two walks and six strikeouts on 114 pitches (75 for strikes). He is the Rangers' third five-game winner, joining Yu Darvish (6) and Robbie Ross (5).

Messing with Texas: Ichiro Suzuki’s first-inning single gave him 291 career hits against Texas, and his single in the eighth inning moved him past George Brett for the most hits against the Rangers.

Smoak signals: Former Ranger and current Mariner first baseman Justin Smoak drove in the Mariners' first-inning run with a single.

Not in the box score: Josh Hamilton made a great catch with his back to home plate while running down Casper Wells' drive on the warning track in center field to close out the bottom of the first inning and leave the bases filled with Mariners. Hamilton made another catch up against the center-field wall when Alex Liddi led off the third inning.

Walk through: Mariners starting pitcher Hector Noesi was perfect through two, but then he walked the leadoff man in the third and another Ranger with one out. Later that inning with two outs, Elvis Andrus drove in both of those walked batters with his third triple of the season.

In the box score: Hamilton swung on the first pitch following the Andrus two-RBI triple, and he delivered an RBI double for a 3-1 Rangers lead. Prior to that hit, Hamilton was 3-for-18 since his 16-game hitting streak.

Gold glove & off glove: Adrian Beltre made a sweet diving stop of Dustin Ackley’s grounder in the fifth for the second out, but Liddi followed with a grounder off Beltre’s glove for an error. Shockingly, Brendan Ryan, who moved up from second base to third base on that play, did not try to score as the ball rolled toward shallow left-center field. The score stayed at 3-1 with the Rangers leading.

HR drought: Ian Kinsler has not hit a home run in the last 24 games. He has just one RBI in his last 15 games.

Bullpen: Adams has appeared in five of the six games the Rangers played against the Mariners this season.

Rotation: The Rangers starting rotation stays in the same order, which means everyone gets an extra day of rest in between starts thanks to Thursday’s scheduled off day.

SEATTLE -- The second game of this three-game series features Rangers LHP Matt Harrison and Mariners RHP Hector Noesi. First pitch is at 9:10 p.m. on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and FSSW. Here’s a closer look at the starting pitchers:

Harrison (4-3, 5.21 ERA): Harrison is scheduled to make his ninth start this season Tuesday on four days' rest. … He’s 1-3 with an 8.10 ERA in his last five starts after starting 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA. … Harrison has won his last five starts against the Mariners. He went 4-0 in four starts last year with a 1.98 ERA. … He’s won all three starts at Safeco Field and holds a 1.25 ERA in five career games in Seattle. … In 13 games against the Mariners, Harrison is 6-1 with a 2.67 ERA. It’s his most wins against any opponent. … Harrison’s .125 opponents batting average against left-handed hitters ranks second in the majors behind the New York Mets’ Johan Santana.

Noesi (2-4, 5.61 ERA): In his last outing, Noesi allowed a run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings against the Cleveland Indians. … He’s 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in three starts at Safeco Field. ... He’s 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in two games, one start, against Texas in his career. … In his start against the Rangers earlier this season, Noesi gave up seven runs on six hits in three innings.

Hitters: The Mariners have a .183 batting average against Harrison. ... Dustin Ackley (0-for-11), Mike Carp (0-for-10) and Miguel Olivo (0-for-14) are hitless against Harrison. ... Ichiro Suzuki leads the team with seven hits off Harrison (7-for-31). ... It’s a small sample size, but Nelson Cruz (2-for-2) and Mitch Moreland (1-for-2) have each homered against Noesi. … Elvis Andrus (1-for-2), Adrian Beltre (1-for-3), Josh Hamilton (1-for-2) and Michael Young (1-for-3) have collected hits off Noesi.

Up Next:

Wed. at Sea.: Scott Feldman (0-1, 3.00) vs. RHP Kevin Millwood (2-4, 4.17), 2:40 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/FSSW
Thu.: Off day
Fri. vs. Tor.: LHP Derek Holland (3-3, 4.27) vs. Brandon Morrow (5-2, 2.63), 7:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/TXA-21
Sat. vs. Tor.: RHP Colby Lewis (4-3, 3.30) vs. RHP Henderson Alvarez (3-4, 3.30), 2:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/FSSW

HOUSTON -- The first leg of the Silver Boot series concludes Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park and the Texas Rangers will have righty Colby Lewis, their opening day starter, facing Jordan Lyles.

Here's a preview:

Lewis (3-3, 3.63): The right-hander has lost his last three starts and hasn't earned a victory since April 28. He's given up 14 earned runs in the last three starts after just giving up a total of seven earned runs in five April starts. During this tough stretch, Lewis' ERA has risen from 1.93 to 3.63. Lewis' last start resulted in him committing two throwing errors, leading to five unearned runs. Lewis said he didn't do anything differently between starts, just two bullpen sessions and feels he will get out of this funk.

Lyles (0-0, 3.00 ERA): In his last start, May 15, he drew a no-decision against Philadelphia, a 4-3 loss. Lyles gave up one run on six hits in six innings of work. He was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to make that start. Last year he pitched in two games against the Rangers, going 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA. The last time he faced them was June 28, 2011, when he was credited with the loss after allowing five runs on 10 hits in six innings.

Hitters vs. Lewis: Carlos Lee 5-for-19, Jed Lowrie 3-for-5 and Matt Downs 1-for-3.

Hitters vs. Lyles: Josh Hamilton 3-for-6, Nelson Cruz 2-for-6 and Ian Kinsler 2-for-4.

Up next:
Mon at Seattle: RHP Yu Darvish (6-1, 2.60) vs. RHP Feliz Hernandez (3-3, 3:02), 9:10 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/FSSW
Tue at Seattle: LHP Matt Harrison (4-3, 5.21) vs. RHP Hector Noesi (2-4, 5.61), 9:10 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3/1540/FSSW
Wed at Seattle: RHP Neftali Feliz (3-1, 3.16): vs. RHP Kevin Millwood (2-4, 4.17), 2:40 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3/1540/FSSW

The Rangers are sending Matt Harrison to the mound against former teammate Brandon McCarthy and the Oakland Athletics under the sun at Rangers Ballpark. We'll start chatting around 1:05 p.m. when the first pitch is scheduled for ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and FSSW.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The final game of this quick two-game series features LHP Matt Harrison and RHP Brandon McCarthy. The game starts at 1:05 p.m. on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and FSSW. A look at the matchup:

Harrison (4-3, 5.23 ERA): The 26-year-old will make his eighth start of the season after taking a 4-2 loss Saturday against the Angels. ... Harrison gave up four runs on four hits in six innings with five strikeouts and two walks. ... Harrison got into trouble with two-out walks, both of which scored in the game. ... Harrison started the year 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA through three starts, but is 1-3 with an 8.86 ERA in his last four starts (with one quality start). ... He's 4-1 with a 4.10 ERA in nine games (six starts) in his career against Oakland, including 4-1 with a 2.86 ERA in the six starts. ... In two starts vs. Oakland in Arlington, Harrison is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA, including 7 2/3 shutout innings at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on July 10, 2011.

McCarthy (3-3, 2.56 ERA): This will be the ninth start for the former Ranger. ... He has won each of his last three starts and has a 1.31 ERA in that span. ... His 2.56 ERA is eighth in the AL. ... McCarthy hasn't allowed a home run in his last four starts. ... Opponents are batting .173 with runners in scoring position against McCarthy, fifth-lowest in the AL. ... He pitched seven shutout innings last Saturday against Detroit, with four hits allowed and 10 strikeouts. ... Is 1-4 with a 4.06 ERA in nine career appearances vs. Texas. ... Was 0-2 with a 4.13 ERA in five starts last year.

Hitters: Elvis Andrus (3-for-13), Mike Napoli (2-for-11) and Nelson Cruz (1-for-11) have struggled against McCarthy. ... Adrian Beltre (10-for-26, 2 HRs, 8 RBIs), Michael Young (7-for-19) and Yorvit Torrealba (3-for-5) have hit him well. ... Coco Crisp (6-for-14) and Kurt Suzuki (6-for-14) have hit Harrison well. ... Scott Sizemore is just 1-for-9 off Harrison.

Up Next:

Fri. at Hou.: RHP Neftali Feliz (3-1, 3.32) vs. LHP Wandy Rodriguez (3-3, 1.99), 7:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/TXA 21
Sat. at Hou.: LHP Derek Holland (3-2, 3.78) vs. RHP Lucas Harrell (2-3, 4.40), 6:15 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/FOX
Sun. at Hou.: RHP Colby Lewis (3-3, 3.63) vs. RHP Jordan Lyles (0-0, 3.00), 1:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/FSSW

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Yu Darvish and a four-run fourth inning helped the Texas Rangers end a two-game slide and beat the Oakland A's, 4-1. Some quick thoughts on Wednesday night's game:

What it means: Texas is now five games in front of the A's, who are second in the AL West. It's the largest division lead in the AL.

Darvish consistent: Darvish is making quality starts a habit. He went 7 2/3 innings and gave up one run on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. He's now got six wins, the most by a rookie in the AL this season. ... The single by Jemile Weeks in the eighth was Darvish's first hit allowed since a two-out single by Collin Cowgill in the third. Darvish added seven strikeouts, pushing his total to 58 on the season through eight starts. He now has five straight games of seven or more strikeouts, tying him with CC Sabathia for the big league lead. ... Darvish's 51 strikeouts through his seven career starts are the most in Rangers history and seventh all-time, according to baseball-reference.com (Nolan Ryan was eighth at 50 strikeouts through his first seven career starts in 1968).

Four is key number: Darvish was 49-0 in Japan when he got at least four runs of support and is now 5-0 in the big leagues when he gets that much support.

Darvish's glove solid: It's easy to overlook Darvish's defense since he's got such great movement on his pitches, but he knows what he's doing with his glove and feet. He made a nice stab at a chopper in the fourth (to retire Kila Ka'aihue) and always does a nice job of getting to first base quickly on a ground ball to first.

Speedy Gentry: Craig Gentry's speed was on display on Wednesday. He had a bunt single in the third, beat out an infield hit in the fourth (ground ball to third) and he sprinted to reach a ball deep in the left-center gap on a fly ball from Seth Smith.

Hamilton hit streak at 16: Josh Hamilton extended his hit streak to 16 games, the longest streak in the American League this season. Hamilton did it with an infield single in the fourth inning that hopped just past the mound toward second. Weeks had no chance to get Hamilton.

Beltre belts one: With Hamilton on in the fourth, Beltre hit a first-pitch changeup 371 feet to right field to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.

Four in the fourth: The clutch hits that had escaped the Rangers the past two games returned in the fourth inning. What makes this lineup -- even when two starters are out (Michael Young got a rest and Ian Kinsler had a stomach illness) -- dangerous is that they can keep getting runners on base and put pressure on opponents. Even after Beltre's homer, Nelson Cruz had an infield single. Yorvit Torrealba walked. Then, with two outs and a runner in scoring position, Gentry beat out an infield single (it seemed like third baseman Josh Donaldson thought he had more time than he did) to score a run. And Elvis Andrus got his 18th RBI of the season on a single to score Torrealba.

New streak: One night after Andrus' 32-game on-base streak ended when he was unable to get on as a pinch hitter in the ninth, he got on base twice Wednesday, starting a new streak. Andrus has a hit in 17 of his last 20 games and his hitting .426 (32-for-75) over that span. He is 8-for-22 with two runs and two RBIs in this homestand.

Mickelson in front row: Four-time major winner Phil Mickelson, who is playing in this week's HP Byron Nelson Championship for the first time since 2007, was in the owner's box for most of Wednesday's game, leaving in the eighth. Mickelson has a 7:30 a.m. tee time off No. 10 at TPC Four Seasons in Las Colinas on Thursday.

Kinsler sick: Ian Kinsler was scratched from the lineup about 30 minutes prior to the game with a stomach illness. Alberto Gonzalez took his place at second base and Andrus was moved up to the leadoff spot with Gonzalez batting second.

Tidbits: The Rangers have yet another sellout Thursday with only scattered singles and a limited number of obstructed view and standing room only tickets left. All other reserved seats have been sold. ... They had 46,370 on Wednesday, the 12th sellout of the season. That's the third-most in Rangers history. The only two seasons with more than 12 sellouts: 1994 (21) and 1998 (15). ... Gary Sinise threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Mike Adams struck out the only batter he faced in the eighth, and Joe Nathan closed the game out in the ninth with three straight strikeouts.

Up next: Matt Harrison will start against former Ranger Brandon McCarthy at 1:05 p.m. on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and FSSW. It's the final game of this quick two-game series.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Matt Harrison got ahead to Mark Trumbo 1-2 to start the seventh inning, but wasn't able to get the young hitter to swing and miss at anything after that.

"I couldn't finish him," Harrison said.

Instead, Trumbo fouled off a strike and took three balls to draw a leadoff walk, setting up the inning for the Angels. After the walk, a couple of great bunts made the difference. Howard Kendrick took a 1-0 fastball for a strike and Michael Young took a few steps back, figuring Kendrick wouldn't be bunting.

"It was just put in the perfect spot," Young said.

The bunt down the third base line put runners at first and second and ended Harrison's day. The nearly unhittable Alexi Ogando entered and faced the speedy Peter Bourjos with two on and no outs. Bourjos followed Kendrick's lead, dropping a bunt down the line. Ogando fielded it quickly and threw to first, but there aren't many players faster than Bourjos, who beat the throw.

"You have to give the Angels credit, they executed," manager Ron Washington said.

Erick Aybar hit a sacrifice fly to left field to put the Angels up, 3-2. And after John Hester's infield hit (Elvis Andrus made a nice diving stop to keep a run from scoring on it), Mike Trout hit a sacrifice fly to right. Nelson Cruz made a nice throw home, but it wasn't in time to get Kendrick.

So a walk, two bunt singles, an infield single and two sacrifice flies vaulted the Angels into the lead. They didn't let go of it, holding on for the 4-2 victory.

Walks really hurt Harrison on Saturday. He also issued one to Torii Hunter with two outs in the fourth. Trumbo then hit a 1-0 fastball 420 feet to left field to give the Angels a 2-0 lead.

"I didn't make him earn his way on," Harrison said about Hunter. "I made a mistake to Trumbo and he hit it."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Angels scored two runs in the seventh to break a tie and held on for a 4-2 win. All four runs were charged to Matt Harrison, though he left with two on and no outs in the seventh and Alexi Ogando wasn't able to keep those runs from scoring. Josh Hamilton hit yet another home run and has nine homers in his last six games (more on that below). Some quick thoughts:

What it means: The Angels even the series, setting up the rubber match on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" at 7:05 p.m. Texas drops to 22-12. The Angels are now seven games back of Texas in the AL West.

Small (ball) seventh: The Angels got a walk, two bunt singles, an infield single and two sacrifice fly balls to put two runs on the board and retake the lead right after the Rangers had tied it in the bottom of the sixth. ... Ogando came in with two on in the seventh after Harrison had issued a leadoff walk and Howie Kendrick hit a perfect bunt single down the third-base line. Ogando couldn't keep the score tied as the Angels executed.

Hamilton homers again: Hamilton's memorable week continued as he drilled a hanging curve ball from C.J. Wilson out to right field to tie the score at 2 in the sixth inning. ... It was Hamilton's ninth homer this week (that's in his last six games and his eighth in the last five). ... ESPN Stats & Info says the most homers in a six-game stretch is 10 by Frank Howard of the Washington Senators in 1968. ... Hamilton is just the second player since 1918 to hit 18 homers in his club's first 34 games. The only other player to do it was Cy Williams in 1923. ... Hamilton also has a 12-game hitting streak. He's batting .422 (19-for-45) with 10 HRs, 22 RBIs, 13 R and 7 BB in that span.

Walks costly for Harrison: Harrison had retired 11 of his first 12 batters before issuing a two-out walk to Torii Hunter in the fourth. That allowed Mark Trumbo to bat, and he crushed a 1-0 cutter out to left field (an estimated 420 feet). ... In the seventh, Harrison walked Trumbo to lead things off, and after a bunt single by Kendrick, Harrison's day was over. But that walk came around to score to give the Angels back the lead. ... Harrison's line: 6 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR.

Napoli hit by pitch, scores: Wilson threw a pitch that hit the dirt and then catcher Mike Napoli's foot with two outs. And that hurt Wilson's cause. Brandon Snyder then singled and Craig Gentry delivered a two-out RBI.

Gentry on a roll: The outfielder went the other way on a 2-0 fastball in the fifth to score the first run of the game. Gentry is hitting .363 (16-for-44) with a triple, homer, nine RBIs, six runs and four steals in his last 18 games. The RBI single came hours after he was 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs in Friday's win.

Early start time makes history: Making history seems to be the theme of the week. And the 12:07 p.m. start time Saturday is now in the history books as the earliest start to a game in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington history, breaking the old mark set at 12:08 p.m. four times (the last time Game 4 of the 2010 ALDS). ... It's the earliest start to a Rangers home game since a 12:03 p.m. start on April 18, 1992, versus Oakland at old Arlington Stadium.

Andrus on-base streak continues: Elvis Andrus walked in the first inning, extending his consecutive games streak of reaching base safely to 30 games. That's the longest active streak in the majors this season. ... But Andrus' hitting streak ended at 11 games.

A righty finally gets hit off Ogando: It took a bunt single by Peter Bourjos, one of the fastest players in the game, for a right-hander to finally get a hit off Ogando this season. Right-handed hitters were 0-for-28 versus Ogando before Bourjos' bunt single in the seventh. ... He gave up two infield hits in the seventh. Ogando had allowed two hits in his previous 10 innings combined.

Close call: Andrus appeared to beat out a slow-roller to third with two outs in the seventh. He was called out, and as soon as he was he started arguing and first-base coach Gary Pettis threw his hands up. Ron Washington came charging out of the dugout to argue the call and keep Andrus from getting into any trouble with the umpire. Replays appear to show that Andrus beat the throw, but it was very close. And had he been called safe, Hamilton would have come up as the tying run.

Tidbits: Albert Pujols got his first hit of the series, a single off Harrison. He is 1-for-7 in the series. He did end a string of 14 consecutive games without a walk, drawing one in the eighth. ... The Rangers hit into two double plays in the first two inning, killing chances to score early. ... With the score tied and the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth, Snyder hit a long fly ball to left that was caught by Mike Trout to end the threat. ... It was turnback day in Arlington as the Angels and Rangers wore jerseys from the 1970s. ... The Rangers had a crowd of 47,699 on Saturday, the eighth straight sellout and 10th on the season.

Up next: The Rangers play for the third time this season on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" (they are 1-1). Neftali Feliz will take the mound for Texas against Jered Weaver.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The second game of this three-game series is an afternoon affair (12:05 p.m. on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and Fox) featuring LHP Matt Harrison and LHP C.J. Wilson. A brief look:

Harrison (4-2, 5.11 ERA): His last outing ended a two-game slump for Harrison as he earned a quallity start in Baltimore on Monday, giving up three runs on six hits in seven innings with a walk and three strikeouts in a 14-3 Rangers win. ... Before that, he had allowed 15 runs (14 of them earned) in his previous two starts. ... Harrison was 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA in his first three starts. ... He has gone 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA in nine career games against the Angels, including 1-1 with a 5.16 ERA as a starter. ... Had a quality start in both of his outing against the Angels last season, posting a 2.84 ERA.

Wilson (4-3, 3.46 ERA): He's the first pitcher to start back-to-back games since Aaron Myette in 2002. He threw two pitches in his first start and got ejected, then started the next day. ... The 31-year-old Wilson had six straight quality starts to begin the 2012 season before going just one-third of an inning on Friday. ... Rain ended his night early, but he gave up four runs on three hits (all infield singles) with a walk and a strikeout. ... He gave up two runs on six hits with three walks and nine strikeouts in eight innings in a win over Toronto on Saturday. It was his longest outing of the season and the longest since Sept. 11, 2011. ... The former Ranger will be pitching against his old team for the second time in as many days. ... He has 40 strikeouts and 16 walks this season. ... In his career at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Wilson is 27-15 with 25 saves (he was a reliever before switching to the rotation prior to the 2010 season) in 173 games (39 starts).

Hitters: Only four current Rangers have ever faced Wilson. Adrian Beltre is 8-for-20 with three doubles, a homer and three RBIs and Mike Napoli is 4-for-18 with a double and a homer. ... Howie Kendrick is 3-for-6 with a homer off Harrison. ... Vernon Wells (1-for-10), Torii Hunter (1-for-10) and Erick Aybar (1-for-11) have struggled against Harrison, who has held current Angel hitters to a .207 average.

Up Next:

Sun vs. LAA: RHP Neftali Feliz (2-1, 3.38) vs. TBD, 7:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540 AM/ESPN
Mon vs. KC: TBA vs. LHP Bruce Chen (1-4, 4.83), 7:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540 AM/FSSW
Tue vs. KS: RHP Colby Lewis (3-2, 3.69) vs. TBA, 7:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540 AM/FSSW

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers fans will get to greet C.J. Wilson for yet another start Saturday.

Less than 12 hours after the end of Friday's 10-3 game, Wilson will climb on the mound to start for the second consecutive day. Mother Nature ended his Friday start after he recorded just one out and loaded the bases. When the rains stopped and the nearly two-hour delay was over, Jerome Williams couldn't hold the Rangers' bats down and Wilson got the loss.

His line: one-third of an inning, three hits (all infield singles), four runs (all earned), a walk and a strikeout.

Yu Darvish earned the victory Friday. Now Matt Harrison will get the opportunity to oppose Wilson at 12:05 p.m. Saturday on Fox and ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM.

Fans greeted Wilson with boos Friday, and another sellout crowd will have that chance Saturday. It should be interesting to see how Wilson responds after Friday's short outing.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers wasted little time in jumping on the Angels, using a six-run first inning -- that took a lot longer than expected thanks to a nearly two-hour rain delay -- on their way to a 10-3 victory. Texas had 15 hits. Yu Darvish pitched well, staying in after the delay, and Josh Hamilton added two more homers to increase his MLB-leading total to 17 this season.

What it means: The win means the Rangers are eight games ahead of the Angels in the AL West and move to a MLB-best 22-11. Oakland beat the Tigers, so the Rangers' lead remains five games over the A's, the largest division lead in the AL.

Darvish solid yet again: Don't let the line deceive you. Yu Darvish was very good Friday. He stayed loose through a 1-hour, 56-minute rain delay and got through 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs -- all of them on two homers (one by Mike Trout in the third, the other by Torii Hunter in the sixth) with seven strikeouts and three walks. Darvish's slider was very effective, but he didn't try to do anything fancy after he got staked to a 6-0 lead in the first. To Darvish's credit, he attacked hitters with his fastball and changed speeds with the slider but didn't appear to get caught up in throwing his entire arsenal.

Infield hits: The Rangers got things going in the first thanks to three infield singles. Elvis Andrus started it, followed by Hamilton (who slid headfirst into first even though no throw was made) and then Adrian Beltre. The Beltre grounder might have started an inning-ending double play, but Howie Kendrick didn't field it cleanly and then made an errant throw to first. Wilson then walked Michael Young to load the bases for Nelson Cruz. And that's when the rain came.

Flood gates open after rain quits: Cruz hit the first pitch he saw from Jerome Williams (who replaced C.J. Wilson) on the ground between shortstop and third base for a two-run single. That made it 3-0. Mike Napoli's ground ball was thrown to second, but the throw was not in time and the bases were loaded as another run scored. Then, Craig Gentry's two-run triple put the Rangers up 6-0 after the first inning.

Rain ends Wilson's start early: Wilson threw just 22 pitches (12 strikes) in his first start at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington as an Angel. But a nearly two-hour delay forced Wilson from the game as Williams, the scheduled starter for Saturday's game, came into the game in relief. Wilson's line: 1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.

Torrealba hit by bat: Catcher Yorvit Torrealba was hit by Albert Pujols' bat as the slugger followed through on his swing in the first inning, and suffered a head contusion. He left the game after the rain delay. Pujols' bat broke, but the part of the bat he still had in his hands hit Torrealba in the head, knocking off his mask. He was looked at by manager Ron Washington and head athletic trainer Jamie Reed and stayed in for the next batter before he exited after the rain left. Napoli went to catcher and Mitch Moreland, who pinch-hit for Torrealba in the first after the rain delay, played first.

Hamilton homers twice: Josh Hamilton continued his ridiculous season (and, in particular, past week) at the plate. He had two home runs Friday -- one was a pitching wedge to right field with serious hang time, the other a 3-iron line drive -- and now has 17 homers this season. After the second homer in the fourth, Hamilton had eight home runs in his past 17 at-bats (five games). ... He has 17 home runs in the club's first 33 games (Friday was Hamilton's 30th game). According to baseball-reference.com, the only other two players since 1918 to hit that many homers in their team's first 33 games of a season were Cy Williams with the Phillies in 1923 and Frank Howard with the Senators in 1968. ... At one point, manager Ron Washington just shook his head at Hamilton, probably amazed (like everyone else) by what Hamilton is doing right now. ... It was his sixth career multihit game and his second of the season. ... Hamilton came up with first base open and two outs in the fifth and the Angels intentionally walked him.

Dugout warnings: Williams threw behind Ian Kinsler in the fifth. It's unclear why, though it's possible that it was because the Rangers continued to put runners on the move in a 9-2 game (and if that's the reason, I'm perplexed because it's the fifth inning and you never know if a team can scratch back in it with four innings left and if you wanted to send that kind of message, it would make more sense to hit Gentry, who had stolen one before ... so I don't know). Williams and both dugouts were warned. Darvish did end up throwing inside and hitting Mark Trumbo with one out in the sixth. It's unclear if that was Darvish's way of sticking up for his teammate. But that was Darvish's last batter, as Ron Washington opted to go with Mark Lowe to get the last two outs of the sixth inning.

Wilson booed during intros: It was not surprising to hear boos when Wilson was introduced by public address announcer Chuck Morgan. Read more about that here.

Napoli going triple crazy: Napoli, who went two years without a triple before hitting one Thursday night in Baltimore, hit another one Friday. He hit a long fly ball to left that Vernon Wells couldn't track down and he slid in just safely at third.

Aggressive running: The Rangers were aggressive on the bases as usual. Andrus and Gentry had stolen bases, while Cruz was thrown out. But Texas wasn't afraid to keep the pressure on, even with a six-run lead.

Streaks continue: Andrus singled in the first, pushing his hitting streak to 11 games and has been on base in 29 consecutive games this season, the current high in the big leagues.

Pujols 0-for-4: Pujols' batting average dipped to .192 after he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He didn't get a ball out of the infield.

Walk streak ends: Koji Uehara issued his first walk since Aug. 6, 2011 vs. Cleveland. He went a club-record 28 consecutive appearances without a walk before Friday. But he pitched a scoreless eighth.

Tidbits: Mike Trout was running on a pitch in the seventh and thought it was a foul ball. So after he got to second, he started to head back to first until someone yelled at him. The Rangers weren't covering the bag, so he wasn't tagged out, but he was smiling. ... Kudos to the crowd of 48,201, the club's seventh straight sellout, for staying through the delay. ... Moreland's homer in the seventh hit the ribbon board on the Home Run Porch in right (402 feet). It was his fourth homer of the season. ... Lowe pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.

Up next: It's a quick turnaround, as the Rangers and Angels play at 12:05 p.m. Saturday. Matt Harrison will be on the mound for the Rangers.

BALTIMORE -- The Texas Rangers' journey through Toronto, Cleveland and Baltimore started with some banged up players, some rough starts and some series losses. But it ended with an historic game from Josh Hamilton and three wins in four games over the Orioles, who had the best record in the AL with the series began. A few notes on what we learned about the Rangers on this road trip:

* After starting the road trip 2-4, the Rangers regrouped in Baltimore to go 5-5.

"The way the road trip started, to be 5-5, we'll take that," catcher Mike Napoli said. "We wanted to do better, but we'll take it."

* They head back to Arlington with a little momentum and a little better health. Maybe that second part is more important. Adrian Beltre's hamstrings didn't take well to the turf in Toronto and he didn't start at third base until Thursday in Baltimore. He came off the bench in Toronto and was eased back into the lineup. He looked good at third base Thursday (playing in Game 1) and his bat is big in the lineup.

* Josh Hamilton didn't play in Toronto with a stiff back, but returned to the lineup in Cleveland and then had his memorable four-homer night Tuesday at Camden Yards, becoming the 16th player in big league history to do that. Hamilton added a two-run homer in the first inning of Game 2 on Thursday, giving him six two-run homers in the four-game series in Baltimore. He was 8-for-17 with six homers and a double. His only single came in Game 1 on Thursday.

"I'm excited and happy I had a good series, but the series is over with now," Hamilton said. "We've got to go home and think about Anaheim."

* Elvis Andrus continues to swing a hot bat. He has now reached base safely in 28 games, tying Curtis Granderson for the longest streak this season. Granderson's streak ended Wednesday. He was 19-for-42 (.452) with seven RBIs on the 10-game road trip. He had a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in Game 2 on Thursday.

"He came up big tonight, no doubt about it," Washington said. "The stuff that Josh (Hamilton) was doing, Elvis was on the basepaths. That big hit he got with two outs was huge to give us the lead."

* Is Thursday a sign that Mike Napoli might slowly be figuring things out? Napoli had a struggling road trip at the plate, coming into Thursday's game at 4-for-27, but he had two hits, including his first triple in two years (and the fifth of his career). The triple scored Nelson Cruz to tie the score. Napoli later scoed on Andrus' single to give the Rangers the lead.

"I was just trying to move the runner over and when I saw (Nick) Markakis dive for it and not get there, I kept running," Napoli said.

He said he worked with hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh on Thursday and they found something on video that Napoli was doing and he fixed it. Now the key is trying to make it a habit and do it more consistently. Perhaps a series against his former team will help Napoli do that.

* Derek Holland had a good road trip, after struggling in two home starts. He gave up one earned run in 13 1/3 innings in Cleveland and Baltimore.

"I didn't change anything," Holland said. "The only thing I was doing is leaving my off-speed stuff too much over the plate. I fixed that and got my fastball command going. That helped."

His manager was pleased with Holland's poise in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader. After the Rangers made three errors in the second inning that allowed three unearned runs to score and turn a 2-0 Rangers lead into a 3-2 deficit, Holland was able to bear down and not allow any more runs. He got through six innings and turned things over to the bullpen.

* Cruz wasn't hitting when this road trip started, but he went 11-for-43 (.255), which was an improvement over what he was doing at home.

* Neftali Feliz and Matt Harrison also had bounce-back starts in Baltimore, perhaps giving them some confidence for the upcoming homestand.

* Mike Adams walked his first batter of the season Thursday, issuing two walks. He had gone 11 2/3 innings without one until Thursday, but he worked out of the trouble he was in to not allow a run in the eighth of the Rangers' win. Closer Joe Nathan also got some work, giving the bullpen a little action before this weekend.