ESPN

Following a day off, the Texas Rangers begin a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. LHP Derek Holland will face RHP Brandon Morrow. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and TXA-21. Here’s a closer look at the pitchers:

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

Holland (3-3, 4.27 ERA): Holland looks to bounce back from his last start Saturday against the Houston Astros. He allowed five runs on five hits -- three of them were home runs -- in five innings during the 6-5 loss. …Holland is 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA in his last three starts, dropping his ERA from 5.13 to 4.27. … He pitched a complete game shutout on 95 pitches last season in his last matchup against the Blue Jays on July 30 at the Rogers Centre. … Holland is 2-1 with a 5.55 ERA in five games against the Blue Jays.

Morrow (5-2, 2.63 ERA): Morrow is off to an impressive start this season. In his last outing, he had a complete game shutout against the New York Mets on Saturday. … He’s 3-0 with a 0.63 ERA on the road in four starts with a .156 opponent batting average. … Morrow picked up a win in his last start against the Rangers on July 31 last season. He allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings and struck out 11. … In seven games against the Rangers, Morrow is 3-3 with a 5.46 ERA. … He’s 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA in four appearances at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. … Morrow’s ERA ranks sixth in the American League and his 0.96 WHIP is fourth best in the AL.

Hitters: Ian Kinsler (6-for-16), Michael Young (6-for-15), David Murphy (4-for-11) and Elvis Andrus (3-for-7) have been the most successful against Morrow. Nelson Cruz (1-for-13), Mike Napoli (2-for-14) and Josh Hamilton (2-for-9) have struggled. … The Blue jays have a .256 batting average and .329 slugging percentage against Holland. … The Blue Jays’ No. 3, 4 and 5 hitters Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and J.P Arencibia are 6-for-23 against Holland with zero home runs and five strikeouts. … Adam Lind has the most hits on the Blue Jays off Holland (4-for-12).

Up Next:

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
Sun. vs. Tor.: RHP Yu Darvish (6-2, 3.05) vs. RHP Kyle Drabek (4-4, 3.27), 2:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3/1540/FSSW
Mon. vs. Sea.: LHP Matt Harrison (5-3, 4.72) vs. RHP Kevin Millwood (3-4, 3.72), 7:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3/1540/FSSW/MLB Network

SEATTLE -- Yorvit Torrealba is in at at catcher for the finale of the Rangers' three-game series against at Seattle. Manager Ron Washington is giving catcher Mike Napoli the day off. Torrealba will bat eighth in the lineup. Here's how the rest of the order looks:


Rangers
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
CF Josh Hamilton (L)
3B Adrian Beltre
DH Michael Young
LF David Murphy
RF Nelson Cruz
C Yorvit Torrealba
1B Mitch Moreland

Mariners
2B Dustin Ackley (L)
LF Alex Liddi
RF Ichiro Suzuki (L)
3B Kyle Seager (L)
C Jesus Montero
1B Justin Smoak (S)
CF Michael Saunders (L)
DH Mike Carp (L)
SS Brendan Ryan

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 -- Maybe it's the Northwest green uniforms. Or the fact that Japanese icon Ichiro Suzuki is on the team. Whatever the case, Yu Darvish had another short outing on the mound against the Seattle Mariners.

Darvish lasted just four innings -- his shortest start in nine trips to the mound -- and allowed four earned runs on four hits and six walks in a 6-1 loss Monday night.

It appeared to be the pitchers duel everyone anticipated between Darvish and Felix Hernandez after two innings, but Darvish couldn't find the strike zone as his outing progressed.

Suzuki had an RBI triple in the first inning, but Darvish ended up striking out the side with his slider. Darvish faced the minimum in the second inning, but the wheels came off in the third.

Five of Darvish's six walks came in the third and fourth innings. Suzuki drove in his second run in the third on a ball Darvish left over the middle of the plate.

"Early part of the game, I was ok with my command," Darvish said through an interpretor. "But somewhere in the middle when I needed to throw strikes, I struggled to get strikes in those situations."

He didn't get off to a great start in the fourth. Darvish walked the bases loaded, yet managed to give up just one run thanks to some key force-outs at the plate on plays by third baseman Adrian Beltre and shortstop Elvis Andrus. He struck out Kyle Seager in what would be the last batter he faced.

"It's kind of tough giving up four hits and five runs," Mike Napoli said. "When you walk people, it's pretty tough to minimize damage."

Washington had a lengthy talk with Darvish in the dugout after his outing. He told Darvish he was pulled mainly due to his high pitch count, despite how he finished the fourth. Darvish threw 96 pitches.

"He actually didn't know how many pitches he had, and I was trying to explain to him we're not out to hurt you," Washington said. "That's a lot of pitches in a short period of time, and we need him for the rest of the season."

The Mariners are the only team to rack up more than three earned runs on Darvish, and they've now done it twice. It's the only team Darvish has faced more than once. The Mariners collected five earned runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings against Darvish in his first career start. The Mariners have accounted for nine of Darvish's 19 earned runs this season.

Darvish even apologized to Washington for his outing.

"He expected more, but I told him he didn't have to apologize to me," Washington said. "It's a part of baseball. It happens. But I'm more than certain when he sees Seattle again, he'll have something for them."

Darvish said Washington's comments were reassuring. He was disappointed he couldn't go deeper into the game and felt his overall approach Monday wasn't good.

"Next time I want to make sure that I don't go through that and improve on it," Darvish said.

The Rangers begin a three-game series at Seattle, the first opponent they'll see a second time in 2012. The Rangers visit the Mariners after taking two of three games from the Houston Astros.

Darvish gets another shot: Yu Darvish meets the Mariners for the second time this season Monday night. Like the team in general, it's Darvish's first chance to see an opponent a second time. In the first meeting, Texas won 11-5 but Darvish walked four and gave up five earned runs on eight hits. He lasted 5 2/3 innings. He hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in a game since and is 6-1 with a 2.60 ERA this year.

Young's hot streak: Michael Young hit in all three games against the Astros, going 5-for-12 with two doubles and improving his season average from .269 to .280. In the previous seven-game stretch, Young had gone just 4-for-32 with one extra-base hit.

How will Feliz do? Neftali Feliz (3-1, 3.16) will take on Kevin Millwood (2-4, 4.17) in the finale of series Wednesday afternoon, and it will be interesting to see how he responds. Feliz lost a four-run lead Saturday at Houston and was chewed out by manager Ron Washington on the mound and in the dugout. Washington's message to Feliz was simple: The team depends on him to win games and to command the strike zone. Washington said his talk with Feliz should resonate the rest of the season. Here's Feliz's chance to make that happen.

Cruz's bat: Nelson Cruz has taken off the batting gloves and his quad feels much better. This means is hitting the ball better. He had three hits Sunday and said his approach is the same, to drive it and swing at good pitches. But Cruz struggled for a bit and took off his batting gloves Saturday night so he could get a better feel for the bat when he swings. Sunday he swung the bat and ran the bases well. Cruz went through a 2-for-13 spell before getting his three hits Sunday.

Base hits: Mike Napoli should catch Darvish on Monday, and at some point during the Seattle series third baseman Adrian Beltre will get moved to DH. ... The Rangers are tied with Baltimore with the most road wins in the AL (15). Atlanta leads the majors with 16. ... Relief pitcher Mike Adams should be available for this series after missing the entire three-game set with Houston due to a respiratory infection. Adams said it zapped his energy but he's feeling good now. ... The Rangers won three out of four games between the teams earlier this season.

HOUSTON -- The Texas Rangers blew an early four-run lead and had a rally fall just a run short in a 6-5 loss to the Houston Astros on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.

Lefty Derek Holland, in his first starting appearance in eight days, had a four-run lead, but gave up a season-high three home runs and took the loss. The Rangers' biggest highlight was a David Murphy inside-the-park home run in the third that drove in three runs to give the Rangers a 4-0 lead.

Holland loses lead: Holland last started May 10 at Baltimore. He then pitched one inning in relief May 14 and had a bullpen session a few days later. Holland said he wasn't working on anything specifically and the extended rest shouldn't bother him. He pitched well early until the middle innings. With a 4-1 lead, Holland walked Justin Maxwell to start the fourth inning. Carlos Lee hammered a fastball to left for a home run to cut the deficit to 4-3. In the fifth, Holland gave up a two-out single to Jose Altuve and Maxwell hit a homer off a belt-high pitch to left, giving the Astros a 5-4 lead. Holland left after five innings. He gave up five earned runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out six.

Late rally shut down: The Rangers cut a two-run deficit to one when Josh Hamilton drove in Elvis Andrus on a sacrifice fly to right in the seventh inning. The Rangers tried to get a rally going in the eighth. Michael Young and Brandon Snyder reached on singles to start the inning. Reliever Brandon Lyon was brought in to minimize the damage. He got Nelson Cruz to fly out to right and Mike Napoli hit into what was almost a 4-6-3 double play. Instead, Napoli was ruled out at first but Snyder was safe at second when shortstop Jed Lowrie came off the bag too early on the relay throw from second baseman Altuve. Pinch hitter Craig Gentry ended the inning with a flyout to center.

The bullpen: Closer Joe Nathan appeared to be unavailable after pitching four consecutive days for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2010. Setup man Mike Adams was also unavailable because he's still recovering from a respiratory infection. It left manager Ron Washington to use Alexi Ogando, Mark Lowe and Koji Uehara as the setup men. Robbie Ross was available for at least one hitter after pitching Friday night. Ogando appeared in the sixth inning, relieving Holland. He allowed one run on two hits in two innings of work. Lowe pitched a scoreless eighth. He's allowed just one run the last nine games.

Hamilton in homerless string: Hamilton hasn't hit a home run the last seven games, his longest drought of the season. No biggie. Hamilton still leads the majors with 18 home runs. Hamilton had a six-game stretch where he hit nine home runs. When his night was over, Hamilton was 0-3.

Murphy hits inside-the-park home run: Murphy's third-inning inside-the-park home run was the first of his career and the 23rd in franchise history. Murphy sent a shot to right-center field where right fielder Maxwell missed a diving catch. Murphy beat the throw home easily. It was Murphy's first inside-the-park homer of his career and first for the Rangers since Gentry did it Sept. 23, 2011.

Notes: The Rangers started the season 15-4 but since then have gone just 10-12, including a 8-10 mark in May. ... Because of pinch hitters, the Rangers moved Hamilton to right field in the ninth inning.

Next: The Rangers and Astros play the finale of the Silver Boot series at Minute Maid Park. Colby Lewis takes on Jordan Lyles at 1:05 p.m.

The Rangers went 3-4 on their recent seven-game homestand, but are still four games up in the AL West over Oakland and seven up on the Angels. But they aren't clicking, meaning the overall stock is down this week for a team that hopes a trip to Houston can get them going again. Here's the weekly stock report:

STOCK UP

Joe Nathan: The closer has pitched two perfect innings the past two games with his velocity in the mid-90s. Nathan has settled in to his role after a rocky first week and said he hasn't thrown that hard since 2007.

Yu Darvish: The 25-year-old Japanese pitcher continues to impress. He gave up a first-inning run against Oakland on Wednesday and then didn't allow another one in the next 6 2/3 innings. He ended up with that one run allowed on four hits in 7 2/3 innings for his fifth quality start of the season. Bottom line: Darvish is pitching like an ace.

STOCK DOWN

Michael Young: One of the top hitters in the league has struggled for a few weeks now. Young is 18-for-98 (.184) in his last 23 games, including an 0-for-6 outing against the A's on Thursday. Young's career numbers tell us that he'll snap out of this soon. But it's rare to see Young struggle like this for this long.

Mike Napoli: The Rangers' catcher still isn't comfortable at the plate. He has a strikeout in 28 of 35 games and 42 on the season, which is fifth in the AL. He is 12-for-54 with no homers and four RBIs in his last 16 games. He has just one homer in his last 23 games.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Ron Washington is managing with one goal in mind: To get the Texas Rangers ready for the stretch drive and postseason.

Yes, even in the middle of May, Washington is thinking about the big picture. That's not to say he doesn't keep his players focused on the present and attempt to win every series they play. But when it comes to having his team fully prepared for the heat of a pennant race in September, Washington sees value in putting together a plan now.

That includes rest. Right now. He watches his players every day and seems to understand when they need a mental break, and he doesn't hesitate to give it to them. If that means sitting two regulars in the same game, so be it.

Monday it was Ian Kinsler and Mike Napoli. Tuesday it was Nelson Cruz and Elvis Andrus. And Wednesday was Michael Young's turn to get a night off, even after Ian Kinsler was a late scratch because of a stomach virus.

Even Josh Hamilton must sit too. That could happen as early as Thursday.

Haven't two World Series appearances built enough trust in Washington's methods for Rangers fans?

Perhaps no manager in the majors has a better sense of the pulse of his team than Washington.

When the Rangers need a swift kick in the rear, he's more than willing to do the kicking. If he feels they need a boost, he'll shower them with compliments even when it seems like it's the last thing they deserve. In the end, no one gets more from his team than Washington.

So if the manager thinks his starters need a break, trust him.

Read the rest of the story here.

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 -- The Texas Rangers are giving Michael Young a night off as manager Ron Washington continues to rest players. Here's lineup for both teams:

OAKLAND
2B Jemile Weeks (S)
CF Collin Cowgill
RF Josh Reddick
LF Seth Smith (L)
DH Kila Ka'aihue (L)
3B Josh Donaldson
1B Daric Barton (L)
C Anthony Recker
SS Eric Sogard (L)

RANGERS
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
LF Josh Hamilton (L)
3B Adrian Beltre
RF Nelson Cruz
DH Mike Napoli
C Yorvit Torrealba
1B Brandon Snyder
CF Craig Gentry

ARLINGTON, Texas – Don’t hold your breath waiting for Ron Washington to express regret for resting two regulars in each loss to the Royals.

Washington certainly didn’t second-guess himself after keeping Ian Kinsler and Mike Napoli out of the lineup for Monday’s loss. Tuesday’s lineup, which didn’t include the sizzling duo of Elvis Andrus and Nelson Cruz, made that clear.

"I've still got a potent lineup," Washington said before Tuesday’s loss. "I've got enough. If I do one at a time, it will take forever. This is important.”

The leftovers lineups didn’t exactly back up Washington. The Rangers scored a total of five runs while being swept in the two-game series by the Royals.

But these decisions weren’t designed to give the Rangers their best possible chance of beating the Royals. They were designed to maximize the Rangers’ chances of beating the teams they’ll see in the postseason.

“We need them for the rest of the year, not just in May,” said Washington, who also plans to give Josh Hamilton a day off this week.

This isn’t a case of coddling players. Far from it.

Rest assured that Cruz didn’t ask for his first day off all season immediately after homering in back-to-back games for the first time this year. Kinsler and Andrus made it clear that they wanted to be in the lineup but were following manager’s orders.

PODCAST
Ron Washington explains why resting players this early in the season is important and gives his view on whether Yu Darvish is the Rangers' ace. Listen

Washington makes giving his stars occasional mental and physical breaks a priority because he expects the Rangers to make a postseason run.

No, it didn’t work with the Royals in town. But it worked out awfully well while the Rangers won the American League pennant the last two seasons.

If the Rangers are fresh in October again, there won’t be any complaints about a couple of punchless losses to the Royals in May.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas Rangers' bats were flat with two of their top hitters sitting on the bench. Manager Ron Washington opted to give Ian Kinsler and Mike Napoli a night off, and their teammates managed only one run on seven hits.

Napoli was used as a pinch hitter, striking out looking with a man on base against Kansas City Royals closer Jonathan Broxton to end the game.

Boomstick goes way back: Nelson Cruz became the third player to launch more than one home run to the club level in left field at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington with his solo blast in the fourth inning. Cruz, whose towering homer just inside the foul pole was estimated at 416 feet, also put a ball in the club level seats on April 8, 2009. The others with multiple moon shots to those second-deck seats: Juan Gonzalez (four) and Alex Rodriguez (two). It was the 17th homer to the club level in the ballpark’s history. Cruz’s 2009 shot was the most recent before the Angels’ Mark Trumbo went deep Sunday night. Cruz struck out in his other three at-bats.

Chen’s gem: The only run Royals starter Bruce Chen allowed was on Cruz’s mammoth homer. Chen pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out seven. His success was especially surprising considering his previous struggles against the Rangers. He entered the game with a 1-2 record and 10.58 ERA in 24 2/3 career innings against Texas.

Hamilton loses handle: Josh Hamilton managed to go all last week without his bat flying out of his hands and into the stands. That cracked bat is headed to the Hall of Fame after his historic nine-homer, 18-RBI week. Hamilton’s next two bats lasted only a few minutes of live action. He accidentally launched his bat into the seats down the first-base line in each of his first two at-bats.

E in Beltre: Gold Glove third baseman Adrian Beltre’s throwing error in the fifth inning led to two unearned runs. Chris Getz’s grounder would have ended the inning, but Getz reached when Beltre’s throw pulled first baseman Michael Young off the bag. After Getz stole second, Alcides Escobar lined a two-run single up the middle on the last pitch thrown by Scott Feldman.

Spot on: Feldman was solid in his second spot start of the season. He didn’t allow an earned run while giving the Rangers 4 2/3 innings. Feldman gave up two unearned runs on three hits and a walk. He threw 81 pitches, 44 strikes.

Sellout streak snapped: The Rangers’ team-record streak of home sellouts ended at nine games, more than double the previous mark. A crowd of 38,702 showed up for Monday night’s game. Approximately 10,000 reserved tickets remain for Tuesday night, 1,000 reserved tickets remain for Wednesday night and only scattered singles and obstructed-view seats remain for Thursday.

Tidbits: Beltre’s batting average dipped before the game. The official scorer in Baltimore changed his infield single in Thursday’s Game 1 to an error on third baseman Wilson Betemit. … Hamilton drew a walk in his first plate appearance, a rare occurrence. He has walked only 14 times this season, including five intentional passes. … Rookie reliever Robbie Ross gave up one run in 2 1/3 innings. A leadoff walk in the seventh inning came back to haunt him. … Set-up man Mike Adams pitched a perfect eighth inning, but he had some sort of health issue. Athletic trainer Jamie Reed and manager Ron Washington visited Adams after he struck out Jarrod Dyson, but the injury wasn’t deemed serious enough for Adams to leave the game. The Rangers did not announce the nature of the injury. ... Derek Holland, whose next start was pushed back until Saturday, pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

Up next: The Rangers and Royals wrap up the two-game quickie series with Colby Lewis facing recent Triple-A call-up Vin Mazzaro.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Lefty Bruce Chen is on the mound for the Royals, but manager Ron Washington still opted to keep a couple of his big right-handed bats out of the lineup. Ian Kinsler and Mike Napoli are getting the day off.

“They need it,” Washington said, referring to a day of rest. “We’ve still got some big right-handed bats in the lineup, so we’re fine.”

Napoli has gotten occasional rest throughout the season. This will be Kinsler’s first day off this year.

“We have the luxury of being able to do it,” Kinsler said. “Our team is very deep, so we’re able to provide players a day off and a little rest. Hopefully that will pay off in the lone run. I’d like to be out there, but it’s a decision Wash made.”

The lineups for Monday’s games:

ROYALS
CF Jarrod Dyson
1B Eric Hosmer
DH Billy Butler
LF Alex Gordon
RF Jeff Francoeur
3B Mike Moustakas
C Brayan Pena
2B Chris Getz
SS Alcides Escobar
Chen is pitching.

RANGERS
SS Elvis Andrus
1B Michael Young
LF Josh Hamilton
3B Adrian Beltre
RF Nelson Cruz
C Yorvit Torrealba
DH Brandon Snyder
2B Alberto Gonzalez
CF Craig Gentry
RHP Scott Feldman is making a spot start.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers poured in five runs in the third on their way to a 13-6 blowout win over the Los Angeles Angels. Every starter in the lineup got on base and only David Murphy didn't have a hit (though he drew a big walk in the third that led to Nelson Cruz's grand slam).

What it means: The Rangers take two of three from the Angels and are now five games up on Oakland and eight up on the Angels in the AL West.

Boomstick is back: Cruz, who was hitting .254 on the season and was starting to get more comfortable at the plate (.283 average over the past 13 games before Sunday), hit a two-out grand slam in the third inning off Jered Weaver. The homer went just 344 feet, but it was Cruz's first since April 17 in Boston and the third grand slam of his career. One of those previous grand slams was against the Angels on Aug. 16, 2006. The other was April 15, 2009 vs. Baltimore. ... Of course, Cruz's biggest grand slam was Game 2 of the 2011 ALCS, when he hit the first postseason walk-off grand slam in big league history (11th inning vs. Detroit). ... He finished with four hits, tying a career high. It's his first four-hit game of the season and first since August. ... Cruz was a triple shy of the cycle.

Hamilton doubles: Angels manager Mike Scioscia had the dilemma of either intentionally walking Josh Hamilton with runners at second and third with one out to face Adrian Beltre (who already had two RBIs on the night) or pitching to Hamilton. Weaver had struck Hamilton out twice, so they pitched to him, and the slugger hit a double to right-center to score two. He added an RBI single in the seventh and has a major league-leading 44 RBIs in 32 games. He hit 18 of those RBIs -- nearly 41 percent of them -- in the past seven games to go along with nine homers. What a week.

Broken (homer) bat: Hamilton broke the bat he used to hit his four home runs in Baltimore (and eight of his nine homers this week) late in Sunday's game, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. It is likely headed to the Hall of Fame. Hamilton did use a pink bat earlier in the game as part of MLB's Mother's Day initiative (breast cancer awareness). But he did switch back to his regular bat and broke it on his RBI single in the seventh.

Web-gem for Elvis: Elvis Andrus made a terrific defensive play to end the seventh inning. The Angels already had three runs and had the bases loaded looking to make it a game. Howard Kendrick, the ninth batter in the inning, hit a grounder up the middle. Andrus sprinted to his left, gloved it behind the bag and flipped it from his glove to Ian Kinsler covering second to get the force and end the threat. It was a tremendous play just when the Rangers needed it. ... Andrus stayed hot at the plate, too, matching his career high with four-hits. It's the eighth time he has done that and four of those are against the Angels.

Walks hurt Rangers (again): Matt Harrison knows exactly how Neftali Feliz feels. Just like Harrison on Saturday, Feliz walked the batter ahead of Mark Trumbo and paid for it as Trumbo crushed a ball to the second deck in left field to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 Angels lead.

Mammoth shot: Trumbo's homer was estimated at the ballpark at 437 feet. He's just the 16th player to hit a home run to the club level in left field and the first since Cruz hit one 432 feet on April 8, 2009 vs. Cleveland. Trumbo is one of only three opponents to reach the club level in left. He joins Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria (June 6, 2008) and Mark McGwire (July 5, 1997). McGwire's went 447 feet (Longoria 442).

Feliz gets quality start: He wasn't dominant, but Feliz enjoyed plenty of run support and managed to get through six innings. He gave up two runs -- the Trumbo homer -- and had five strikeouts and two walks.

Beltre delivers: Beltre drove in runs for the Rangers in the first and third. He hit a sacrifice fly in the first and a single in the third. Andrus, who was at second, was waved home by third base coach Dave Anderson on the single, and while Vernon Wells' throw was a good one, it wasn't there quick enough to get Andrus. That RBI tied the score.

Lowe struggles: Mark Lowe came in with a 0.78 ERA and gave up three runs in the seventh inning. He had given up one run in 11 2/3 innings this season before that. His ERA is now 2.92.

Big walk: Murphy was the only Rangers starter without a hit Sunday, but he did walk after falling behind 0-2 in the third. That walk loaded the bases with two outs for Cruz, who hit the grand slam.

Tidbits: Koji Uehara had another good performance. He gave up one hit and had one strikeout in 1 1/3 innings. He now has a 1.46 ERA this season. ... Albert Pujols had two hits during the series, both singles. ... Closer Joe Nathan, who hasn't had a ton of work the last week, came in to pitch the ninth. He gave up a homer to Kendrys Morales with two outs.

Up next: The Kansas City Royals come to town. It's likely that Scott Feldman starts for the Rangers against LHP Bruce Chen.

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.