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ARLINGTON, Texas -- One pitch. That's what got Justin Grimm on Thursday night.

Named the American League Rookie of the Month for the Texas Rangers earlier in the day, Grimm was looking the part, mowing down Chicago White Sox hitters through five innings. Three White Sox hitters, and one pitch, ultimately handed him a 3-1 loss.

Grimm had retired 10 batters in a row until the top of the sixth. He had two outs in the inning before he gave up singles to Conor Gillaspie and Alexei Ramirez. Grimm then threw a first-pitch curveball to White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers and the pitch stayed up. Flowers hammered into the right-field seats for a three-run home run and a 3-1 lead.

"That's all it takes is one," Grimm said. "He capitalized on it and it stayed eye level and he put a swing on it. Unfortunately it didn't end up in my favor. I wouldn't take it back. It's the pitch I wanted to throw. I threw it with conviction."

Grimm was surprised Flowers swung at the pitch.

"I went and looked at the replay," Grimm said. "It was eye level. It definitely would have been a ball. He was probably looking breaking ball in that situation."

Grimm dominated the White Sox for most of the night, except for a career-high four walks. He also tied a career-best nine strikeouts as his fastball and sinker were working all night. He just missed out on his third straight win.

"I'm pleased with the performance," Grimm said. "It was just one bad pitch."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Third baseman Adrian Beltre produced the Texas Rangers' only run in a 3-1 loss Thursday night to the Chicago White Sox.

In his eyes, and for the team, that's not enough. Beltre, who had a home run in his first at-bat, stranded four runners in his final two at-bats, both crucial misses as the Rangers lost a series for the the first time this season.

For the second time this week, Beltre hit a home run -- this one to start the second inning for a 1-0 lead -- that seemingly was the moment to get him rolling. But it's not that time yet.

Beltre batted with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the sixth. The White Sox had just taken the lead on a two-out, three-run home run homer by catcher Tyler Flowers off Justin Grimm. The Rangers' rookie pitcher had been steaming along before three hits in the inning, the last one on a hanging curve ball out of the strike zone.

Beltre had a chance to immediately get the runs back. But White Sox reliever Matt Lindstrom was able to get ahead of him on two sliders. Lindstrom threw him another one and jammed Beltre. He hit a roller out to third baseman Conor Gillaspie that he turned for a rally-killing double play.

"It was a backdoor slider," Beltre said. "Instead of breaking away it broke in. I was hoping it was going to kind of hang but instead of hanging it backed up on me. I was a little late and I hit a ground ball."

Fate dealt Beltre another chance to turn the game in the bottom of the eighth. Pinch hitter Leonys Martin led off with a single, and after two fly balls outs, Lance Berkman walked to put the tying runs on base. Beltre again came up with a chance to tie the game or give the Rangers the lead, but he struck out on a 72-mph curve ball by Jesse Crain.

That left Beltre at 4-for-34 with runners in scoring position this season. He batted .287 with runners in scoring position last season.

"He's just missing pitches," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "That's it."

For his part, Beltre refuses to get down on himself. But he wants to do better for his teammates.

"I'm not frustrated, but I'm the kind of guy, I like to produce," Beltre said. "I'm here to produce. Obviously it's not happening. I'm not frustrated, but of course I want to do better. The team is relying on me right now. I'm getting in a lot of situations where I should be producing and doing a lot better, and I'm not doing that."

His night started splendidly when he hammered a cutter from White Sox starter Hector Santiago into the left-field seats. Beltre said he hates cold weather but wasn't bothered by the 43-degree game time temperature.

It was another moment -- just like his two-run homer on Tuesday -- when it looked like he was ready to break out. Beltre still believes he is.

"I hope," Beltre said. "That's what I want to think. I felt better today, though I missed two clutch at-bats in key situations that I didn't come through. I saw the ball better today. I feel a little better. Hopefully tomorrow I'll improve."

Washington, not surprisingly, is standing by one of his best players.

"He's going to be a run producer," Washington said. "I know he is. We scored one run tonight, and he got it for us. I can tell you this, what you see right now you won't see as we go through the season. That's a guarantee."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers' offense struggled on a cold night and starter Justin Grimm missed with one pitch as The Chicago White Sox won 3-1 at frigid Rangers Ballpark to hand Texas its first series loss of the season.

Offense flails: The Rangers had three hits, one Adrian Beltre's home run in the second inning. They were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position with Beltre failing to come through in the first two situations. The Rangers had the tying runs on base in the ninth inning and Mitch Moreland struck out on three pitches and Leonys Martin fanned to end the game.

One pitch costs Grimm: Justin Grimm, earlier awarded American League Rookie of the Month, dominated the White Sox for most of the night, except for four walks. He was in cruise control until the top of the sixth before he gave up singles to Conor Gillaspie and Alexei Ramirez and a three-run home run on a curve ball that didn't bite enough to catcher Tyler Flowers, his fourth of the year. Grimm tied a career-high nine strikeouts and had retired 10 in a row before Gillaspie's hit.

Beltre's latest miss: Beltre accounted for the Rangers only run with a solo shot to start the second inning. But it was a big miss with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the sixth that stood out in this game. Beltre got down in the count and fisted a ground ball to third base for an inning-ending double play. He also had the tying runs on base in the bottom of the eighth and struck out on a 72-mph curve ball by Ranger nemesis Jesse Crain. Beltre is 4-for-34 with runners in scoring position.

Clean shave works: Left-handed reliever Michael Kirkman is clean shaven after allowing runs in four of his past six appearances. He faced one batter Thursday night in the seventh inning, Adam Dunn, and struck the slugger out on three pitches.

Dog night: There were 689 canines in attendance for Dog Night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Overall attendance was 31,199 for a game that had a game time attendance of 43 degrees, the third coldest start in ballpark history.

Up next: The Rangers open a three-game series against the team with baseball's best record, the Boston Red Sox. Left-hander Derek Holland (1-2, 3.38 ERA) will face Red Sox left-hander Felix Doubront (3-0, 4.24) at 7:05 p.m. on Channel 21 and ESPN-FM 103.3 and 1540-AM.

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

PODCAST
Randy Galloway, Matt Mosley and Glenn "Stretch" Smith discuss the first month of the 2013 season for the Rangers. Listen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PODCAST
Randy Galloway, Matt Mosley and Mark Friedman discuss the latest with the Rangers, including their loss last night and Ron Washington's decision to leave Nick Tepesch in the game. Listen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“There was no message sent.’’

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

PODCAST
Randy Galloway, Matt Mosley and Mark Friedman discuss the latest with the Rangers, including their loss last night and Ron Washington's decision to leave Nick Tepesch in the game. Listen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Derek Holland gave the Texas Rangers another quality start, but the Minnesota Twins used a Josh Willingham two-run home run to pull away for a 7-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at Target Field In Minneapolis.

Holland snakebit: Holland had his fourth quality start in five games this season, allowing three runs in seven innings. An unearned run put him behind 1-0 in the third inning. Willinhgam's homer with two outs in the bottom of the sixth on a slider that stayed up the strike zone gave the Twins a 3-0 lead.

Offense stalled: The Rangers couldn't solve the riddle that was Twins left-hander Pedro Hernandez. Making his third career start, Hernandez had five shutout innings. He caught a big break in the top of the third when Ian Kinsler had a ground rule double on a ball that hopped over the left-center field fence. Leury Garcia, at first base after a single, would have scored easily. The Rangers still had runners at second and third and one out but Craig Gentry lined out to shortstop and Adrian Beltre to left field.

No clutch hits: The Rangers were 1-for-8 for the game with runners in scoring position and are now 4-for-25 for the series against Twins pitching.

Baserunning mishaps: The Rangers made three outs on the bases in Friday's 4-3 loss and made two more on Saturday. Craig Gentry was caught stealing in the first inning and Nelson Cruz was out trying to stretch a single into a double in the second inning.

Kirkman struggles: Reliever Michael Kirkman allowed three runs in the bottom of the eighth. He allowed four hits, including the first extra base hit of the season for Twins outfielder Aaron Hicks.

Avoiding the shutout: The Rangers were nearly shutout for the second time this season, but Mitch Moreland's two-run double on a misplayed ball in center field by Hicks allowed the Rangers to cut the lead to 7-2. The only time the Rangers have been shutout was April 10 by Tampa Bay.

Up next: The Rangers try to win three out of four games from the Twins when right-hander Alexi Ogando (2-1, 3.12 ERA) faces Minnesota right-hander Kevin Correia (2-1, 2.86 ERA) at 1:10 p.m. Sunday afternoon on FSSW and ESPN-FM 103.3 and 1540-AM.

The Texas Rangers witnessed another great outing by one of their young starting pitchers -- this time Justin Grimm -- as they won their second straight game over the Minnesota Twins, 4-3, on Friday night at Target Field.

Grimm cruises: Grimm followed up on fellow rookie Nick Tepesch's brilliant start on Thursday night with seven shutout innings. Following Tepesch's lead, Grimm had total command of the strike zone with no walks. He allowed five hits and had four strikeouts. Grimm has two walks in his past 13 innings.

First-inning runs: The Rangers jumped on the Twins with three first-inning doubles that helped build a 2-0 lead. Elvis Andrus had a one-out double, stole third and scored on Lance Berkman's double to center field. Nelson Cruz made it six straight games with an RBI as he went to the opposite field once again with a double to right field.

Cruz stays hot: Cruz is the third player boasting six straight games with an RBI this season in the majors, joining the Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder and the Cincinnati Reds' Todd Frazier. It ties a career high that he's accomplished four times.

Beltre hammers another one: Adrian Beltre is starting to hit the ball with authority. He crushed a home run to straightaway center field to give Texas a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning. Beltre has seven hits in his past 24 at-bats, including two of his four home runs.

Outs on the bases: The Rangers made three outs on the bases as they didn't get as much out of their 13 hits as they could have. They made two outs on the bases in the third inning, as Andrus was thrown out at home and Berkman got hung up and was out at third base for the second out of the inning.

Rough ninth: Left-hander Joe Ortiz started the bottom of the ninth with a four-run lead and allowed a double to Josh Willingham and a soft single to Justin Morneau. Ortiz did strike out Chris Parmelee for the first out and turned the game over to closer Joe Nathan. He got the second out, fanning Trevor Plouffe, then allowed a three-run homer to Oswaldo Arcia to make things interesting. Nathan was able to bounce back and get Ryan Doumit to line out to center fielder Craig Gentry to end the game.

What scheduling issue?: The Rangers were supposed to be sluggish in the second game after a late plane flight from Anaheim to Minneapolis, but they haven't shown it in this series, winning two one-run games.

Up next: The Rangers go for three wins in a row over the Twins when left-hander Derek Holland (1-1, 3.25 ERA) takes on Minnesota left-hander Pedro Hernandez (0-0, 3.86 ERA) at 3:10 p.m. Saturday on FSSW and ESPN-FM 103.3 and 1270-AM.

The Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins open a four-game series tonight at Target Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. CT on ESPN 103.3 FM and in Spanish on 1540 AM ESPN Deportes. Here's a look at the pitching matchup, featuring Rangers RHP Nick Tepesch and Twins RHP Vance Worley.

Tepesch (1-1, 3.07 ERA): The rookie left last week's start in the second inning after being struck on his right wrist by a line drive. ... He tossed a normal, 45-pitch bullpen session before Monday night's game in Anaheim. ... Tepesch struck out three of the seven batters he faced before leaving the game on Saturday. ... Has recorded 29 ground balls to seven fly balls, good for a 4.14. GB/FB ratio, the highest among major-league starters with at least three starts in 2013.

Worley (0-2, 7.11 ERA): Has lost his two previous home starts this season, giving up nine runs in one inning to the New York Mets on April 12 and three runs in six innings to the Detroit Tigers on April 1. ... Pitched efficiently in his last outing, allowing only one run in seven innings against the Chicago White Sox. He also struck out a season-high seven batters.

Hitters: Tespesch has never pitched against the Twins. ... Lance Berkman (1-for-3), Geovany Soto (1-for-5) and Jeff Baker (0-for-1) are the only Texas players that have faced Worley.

Up next

Friday at Minnesota: RHP Justin Grimm (1-0, 2.70) vs. LHP Scott Diamond (1-1, 4.35), 7:10 p.m. CT, ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540 AM/TXA21

Saturday at Minnesota: LHP Derek Holland (1-1, 3.25) vs. Pedro Hernandez (0-0, 3.86), 3:10 p.m. CT, ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1270 AM/Fox Sports Southwest

Sunday at Minnesota: RHP Alexi Ogando (2-1, 3.12) vs. RHP Kevin Correia (2-1, 2.86), 1:10 p.m. CT, ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540 AM/Fox Sports Southwest

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Texas Rangers' best offensive inning of the young season centered around patience.

That is, until Nelson Cruz took the aggressive route.

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Jim Bowden discusses the state of the Rangers rotation, Mitch Moreland's struggles, the weaknesses of the team and if Jurickson Profar should have been shipped during the offseason. Listen

The Rangers sent 13 batters to the plate in the fourth inning of Wednesday night's 11-3, series-clinching victory against the Los Angeles Angels. It was the most plate appearances in a frame since last April. They managed nine runs, the most in a road-game inning since 2007.

And it began with restraint, as Adrian Beltre opened the frame by drawing his first of two walks.

"How weird is that?" Beltre asked reporters. "Two walks? Is that a record? Two walks in an inning? I think for me it is."

Cruz followed with a single, sparking a sequence that proved to be the turning point against rookie left-hander Michael Roth, the Angels' ninth-round selection in last year's amateur draft whose only other start this season came at Double-A Arkansas.

In all, there were five walks and five base hits in the fourth. Cruz sent fans to the exits with a broken-bat homer to left-center field that made it 9-0.

"When he gets through the baseball, it doesn't matter if the bat holds together or not," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He showed you what his strength is all about."

Cruz showed smarts, as well.

"When you see a guy struggling to find the strike zone, sometimes it's good to be aggressive," Beltre said. "Sometimes you get a good pitch to hit, and [Cruz] did. You assume he's going to throw a fastball, and he did."

The Rangers enjoyed very productive at-bats with runners in scoring position, going 5-for-9 in those situations one night after a weak 1-for-13 effort.

The lead grew to 11-0 by the time Yu Darvish, who tossed six scoreless innings, left the game. A light drizzle blanketed Angel Stadium in the seventh, but it had begun to pour long before then as the Rangers won yet another series.

"Adrian got on base, Nelson got him to third and it kind of snowballed from there," said A.J. Pierzynski, who singled and walked in the fourth. "Adrian had another good at-bat later, and it culminated with Nelson hitting a big home run. It was big."

Beltre smiled when asked if he had ever hit a broken-bat blast like Cruz did.

"I'm not that strong," he said.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Fortunately for the Texas Rangers, utility man Jeff Baker appears to have averted major injury.

PODCAST
Jim Bowden discusses the state of the Rangers rotation, Mitch Moreland's struggles, the weaknesses of the team and if Jurickson Profar should have been shipped during the offseason. Listen

X-rays on Baker's swollen right knee came back negative on Wednesday and, though he wasn't in the lineup for the series finale against Los Angeles Angels rookie left-hander Michael Roth, Rangers manager Ron Washington said he expects Baker to be available for the upcoming series at the Minnesota Twins.

"He'll probably play the field somewhere and let one of those regular guys have a day in the DH spot to get them off their feet," Washington said. "He'll more likely be in the infield than outfield."

Baker crashed into the wall after making a sliding catch in the first inning of Tuesday's 5-4 loss and was removed from the game.

"When I hit the wall it kind of shocked me a little bit," Baker said. "I know there's padding down there, but when I looked at the replay, I was wondering why it hurt so bad and why it swelled up so quick. I got the little spot just beneath the padding where it's concrete.”

“I was a little concerned, to be honest, but it's just a bruise,” he said. “I have some swelling in there in the joint line that we're working hard to get out. I was fortunate."

Baker hoped to be ready for Friday's matchup against Twins left-hander Scott Diamond. The Rangers also are slated to face left-hander Pedro Hernandez on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis. Baker is a lifetime .297 hitter against southpaws.

"I'm always going to play the game hard," Baker said. "Unfortunately, [injuries] come with the territory. Going out there and playing hard, sometimes stuff happens. As soon as I'm ready to go, I'll go back in there to grind it out."

When informed that his acrobatic catch had cracked the Top 10 Plays on "SportsCenter," Baker smirked.

"No wonder my phone was blowing up," he said. "That's cool, I guess, but I would have rather stayed in the game."

First start for Roth

--Roth, set to make his first career start, pitched in relief against Texas on Monday but faced only one batter, Lance Berkman, who singled.

"I got what our scouts that have seen him think of him, so it's all we have," Washington said. "He's the newcomer. We know nothing about him.

“Just try to go off the velocity they give us. Hopefully we can get him to make some mistakes and take advantage of it.”

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington doesn't expect Jeff Baker to miss much time following Tuesday's knee injury.

Baker left in the first inning of the 5-4, extra-inning loss to the Los Angeles Angels after crashing into the padded wall near the left-field foul line. He made a sliding catch on Josh Hamilton's line drive and braced his collision with his right knee.

Washington said the knee was swollen.

"Right now there is no major damage," Washington added. "It may be a day or so, but he's fine."

Baker, a .297 career hitter against left-handers, was in the starting lineup Tuesday with Jason Vargas on the mound for the Angels. Baker did not have a plate appearance, however.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Before Howie Kendrick put smiles on the faces of Los Angeles Angels fans with a walk-off blast Tuesday night, the Texas Rangers bullpen had done the same to manager Ron Washington.

Sure, left-hander Joe Ortiz gave up a home run in the 11th inning of a tough 5-4 loss here. But Washington was more than content with what he got from his relief corps.

"Somebody has to win and somebody has to lose," Washington said. "We certainly felt good with Ortiz out there."

Ortiz inherited the bases loaded in the 10th frame with one out and Albert Pujols due up.

"I still look at him, along with Miguel Cabrera, as the most dangerous man on earth with a bat in his hands," Washington said of Pujols before the game.

Someone forgot to inform the 22-year-old rookie.

Ortiz was cool under pressure, getting the veteran Pujols to ground into a force play. He wasn't out of harm's way by any means, but Josh Hamilton grounded out softly to second base. Ortiz bounced off the mound and pumped his left fist.

The relievers have gained trust rather quickly.

"They've been asked to do the job and they've done it," general manager Jon Daniels said prior to the game. "We've got talented guys with good makeup, but they lack experience. Wash has done a great job of managing the pen. He's put guys in spots to succeed."

Robbie Ross was equally impressive, tossing 2 1/3 shutout innings in relief of Alexi Ogando. Ross got Mike Trout to hit into a double play in the eighth and worked around a Hamilton leadoff single in the ninth.

"They've been unbelievable," Adrian Beltre said. "Everyone has pitched well."

Consider:

--Kendrick's home run was only the second earned run Ortiz has surrendered in eight games this year.

--Right-hander Tanner Scheppers, who wasn't available Tuesday after going two innings the night before, has yet to allow a run in nine appearances this season.

--Michael Kirkman also wasn't available after throwing three innings Sunday, but Washington has been pleasantly impressed by the quality of his arms.

"I've been very pleased, especially with the kids being thrown into the fire," Washington said. "They have responded."