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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.

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 -- 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 -- Texas Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba said he felt fine after getting hit in the head by Albert Pujols' broken bat in the first inning of Friday's game.

"I wanted to play, but they wanted to be sure," Torrealba said. "I feel great. I just went down. It was a hard hit."

Pujols broke his bat and part of it flew out toward Michael Young, who caught a soft liner in foul territory to retire Pujols in the first. But Pujols continued his swing and the rest of his bat knocked Torrealba on the side of the head. Torrealba said he didn't have a headache or anything after the game.

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.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba was taken out of Friday's game with a head contusion following a one-hour, 56-minute rain delay.

Torrealba was hit by Albert Pujols' bat as the slugger followed through on his swing in the first inning.

Pujols' bat broke, but the part of the bat he still had in his hands hit Torrealba in the head, knocking off his mask.

Torrealba was looked at by manager Ron Washington and head athletic trainer Jamie Reed and stayed in the game.

But after the rain delay, he was taken out.

Mike Napoli moved from first to catcher and Mitch Moreland, who pinch-hit for Torrealba in the bottom of the first when the game resumed, is at first base.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Shortly after C.J. Wilson signed his offseason contract with the Los Angeles Angels on the final day of the winter meetings in Dallas, Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington sent him a congratulatory text message, thanking him for all he did for the Rangers.

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"Within five or 10 minutes, he answered me back," Washington said. "I was shocked. I didn't think I would even get through. He was the guy that saved us a lot. Those Sunday days when it was 110 degrees out there and C.J. took the game and took it to the eighth inning. He did a lot for us."

Washington said Wilson deserved to move on if that's what he wanted to do.

"I wish him all the luck in the world," Washington said. "In the game of baseball that happens. People move forward, people move on. That's why they call it a team."

Washington admits that he and Wilson "didn't always see eye-to-eye" during the pitcher's tenure in Texas.

"But that's OK," Washington said about not seeing eye-to-eye with his former starter. "That's his personality. That's what I want out of my players (is) their personality. They don't have to come up in here politically correct and a lot of times he didn't. But I said what I had to say and he said what he had to say, but when it was all over, he respected me and I respected him and we moved on. That's C.J. He's definitely got his own mind."

One memorable instance of the two not seeing eye-to-eye was August 2008, when Wilson flipped the ball to Washington walking off the mound as the manager approached to change pitchers. Washington grabbed Wilson by the arm and made him get back on the mound and hand him the ball. Wilson apologized to the manager after the game.

"It was just a respect thing," Washington said. "I never held that against C.J. I understand his competitive juices. He was upset. But there's a place to handle those kinds of things and he just didn't handle it right that time and I let him know that. I didn't hold anything against him and we moved forward. Me and C.J. got along well. He had a way he wanted to do things and I had my way of doing things."

Washington talked about why Wilson is effective.

"He does his homework, studies opposing hitters and knows their weaknesses," Washington said. "He certainly has a good idea of what his strengths are and he does a good job of using that. He's a very intelligent guy."

Washington said Wilson didn't really make too many adjustments from being a reliever to a starter because he "always thought he was a starter, he just wanted the opportunity to do it." Washington wasn't sure that Wilson could do it because of his pitch count. Wilson had a high pitch count as a closer, but he got more efficient and became a work horse.

"The more he got the ball, the more he understood that if you can get rid of people in a hurry, get rid of them in a hurry," Washington said. "That's the kind of thing that springboards you to the back of the game."

Other notes:

* Yorvit Torrealba is catching Yu Darvish tonight, but that's because Washington wants as many right-handed bats as he can get in there against left-handed starter C.J. Wilson. The only lefty in the lineup for Texas is Josh Hamilton. Craig Gentry is in center and Mike Napoli at first base with Torrealba catching.

"Torrealba swung the bat pretty well the other day," Washington said. "I had thoughts of catching Napoli, but when I filled out my lineup, Torrealba came out of it."

* Washington said Monday's starter remains TBD. Scott Feldman is the most likely candidate, but he's available out of the bullpen tonight.

* Washington doesn't think that the fact that the Rangers hitters have seen Wilson for a few years as a teammate will help them much.

"With the pitches that C.J. throws, if he executes, he'll make anybody look bad," Washington said. "My hope is that he doesn't execute. If C.J. executes and Darvish executes, it should be a pretty good game tonight."

* Washington said outside perception of the Rangers-Angels series is bigger than normal but that his team will take it like "a day on the schedule."

"We're just going to play baseball and see what happens. They can play, we can play. We just have to wait and see what happens after nine innings." Washington said if it was September, it might mean more, but we're still in May.

* Washington praised Darvish's ability to focus and get the job done. "He adjusts and then he re-adjusts," Washington said. "That's what makes him special. Great players do that."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington wanted the right-handed hitting Yorvit Torrealba in the lineup, so he's catching Yu Darvish and Mike Napoli is at first base. C.J. Wilson is on the mound for the Angels. The lineups:

ANGELS
CF Mike Trout
3B Maicer Izturis (S)
1B Albert Pujols
RF Torii Hunter
DH Mark Trumbo
2B Howie Kendrick
LF Vernon Wells
SS Erick Aybar (S)
C Bobby Wilson

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

BALTIMORE -- The Texas Rangers overcame a rough defensive second inning and put up three runs on the board in the seventh to effectively put the game away in a 7-3 win. Derek Holland got his second straight quality start, allowing no earned runs in six innings, and the bullpen closed things down.

What it means: Texas splits the doubleheader and wins the series, ending a three-series losing streak. The Rangers return home for the Angels series at 21-11 after a 5-5 road trip through Toronto, Cleveland and Baltimore.

Holland solid again: This was a good road trip for Derek Holland, who bounced back from his two rough starts at home vs. the Yankees and Rays, and posted two quality starts. That includes six innings Thursday. He allowed three runs, but none of them were earned. Holland gave up two runs (one earned) in 7 1/3 innings in Cleveland. So he's allowed just one earned run in his last 13 1/3 innings. That's a big improvement. He's dropped his ERA from 5.13 when this trip started to 3.86.

Trio of errors: The Rangers committed three errors in the second inning, helping turn a 2-0 lead into a one-run deficit. It ties the club record (set 15 times) for errors in an inning. The last time was Sept. 15, 2005, vs. Seattle (Kameron Loe had 2 and Hank Blalock the other). Ian Kinsler missed a ball hit right at him that might have started a double play. Elvis Andrus made an errant throw to first that allowed a run to score and Josh Hamilton's throw from the outfield on a fly ball was over the cutoff man and wide of home plate, which gave Mark Reynolds the chance to score easily as he was waiting halfway down the line. All three runs scored in the inning off Holland were unearned.

Hamilton homers: After going 1-for-4 with just a single in Game 1, Hamilton hit yet another two-run homer (yes, with Andrus on in front of him). It was his sixth homer of the series and 15th of the season. All six of his homers in Baltimore have been two-run shots with Andrus on base. Hamilton's homer Thursday night landed on Eutaw Street. It's the 60th time that's happened in the ballpark's 20-year history and the 35th by an opponent. ... It's worth pointing out that Hamilton used to regularly hit home runs when Tommy Hunter started for the Rangers. Now, he's doing it when Hunter starts for Baltimore.

A rare triple: Mike Napoli, who was 4-for-27 (.148) on this road trip and trying to find a comfort level at the plate, hit a triple to right field. He got enough on it to keep it fair and Nick Markakis tried to make a diving catch and it got past him. Napoli never hestitated going to third. The hit drove in Nelson Cruz to tie the score. Cruz was on second after a double. ... Napoli also had a single in the sixth, giving him his third multi-hit game in his last four starts. We'll see if maybe Thursday allows him to start feeling more comfortable at the plate.

Reaching safely: Andrus has reached base safely in 28 straight games, tying the major league high this season (Curtis Granderson). ... He also has a 10-game hitting streak and delivered a two-out, go-ahead single in the fifth that put the Rangers up, 4-3.

Insurance runs: Texas added three runs in the seventh to push the lead out a bit. Andrus continues to hit the ball well. he had an RBI single to score Mitch Moreland. The Orioles decided to intentionally walk Hamilton to load the bases for Beltre, who hit a grounder to third that was scored an error. Beltre was given an RBI as Kinsler scored. Michael Young's ground ball scored Andrus.

Bullpen gets work: For the first time all series, the Rangers were able to utilize their bullpen in standard flying formation -- Alexi Ogando in the seventh, Mike Adams in the eighth and Joe Nathan in the ninth. The relievers didn't allow a run.

Aggressive baserunning: The Rangers do it better than most teams. But on a deep fly ball in the ninth, Andrus went from first to second. That put him in scoring position with two outs for Young. Andrus didn't score, but those are the kinds of plays that can matter.

Up next: Assuming Mother Nature allows it, the Rangers and Angels will finally get this rivalry going for 2012 with the intriguing matchup of RHP Yu Darvish against LHP C.J. Wilson.

BALTIMORE -- It was a remarkable afternoon for Colby Lewis, who gave up homers to the first three batters he faced (on his first eight pitches), then retired the next 18 in a row and then gave up a solo homer to Adam Jones to start the seventh and a two-run shot to Wilson Betemit that same inning. The five homers allowed were the most of his career as were the 12 strikeouts (his previous high was 11 set last year). Rookie pitcher Wei-Yin Chen held the Rangers to two runs in 7 2/3 innings, helping the Orioles to their first win of the series in the 6-5 victory.

What it means: The Orioles can split the series if they can win the second game of the doubleheader.

Record book: Lewis is the first pitcher in big league history to allow five homers and strike out at least 10 batters in the same game. Since 1918, it's just the second time that a pitcher has thrown at least seven innings and all five of his hits allowed were homers (fifth overall in the bigs since that date to have all five hits allowed be homers). The only other Texas Rangers pitcher to allow five home runs hits as the only hits was Charlie Hough on June 24, 1989.

Trio of homers: Lewis allowed three straight homers to start the game as Ryan Flaherty (right field), J.J. Hardy (left field) and Nick Markakis (off the foul pole in right) made it 3-0 Baltimore. The Orioles are the first team to start a game with three homers since Milwaukee in 2007 (Weeks, Hardy, Braun). ... Baltimore is the first AL team to ever do it and fourth overall.

What a turnaround: Lewis bounced back in a big way. The right-hander had his slider working and set a career-high with 12 strikeouts, kept his pitch count under control and retired the next 18 batters he faced.

What a turnaround (the other way): Lewis couldn't hold his form in the seventh, giving up a solo homer to Jones and then, after a walk to Matt Wieters, he surrendered a two-run shot to Betemit. The five homers were a career high, one behind the club record of six set by R.A. Dickey in 2006. ... Lewis has given up 11 homers on the season, the second-most in the AL. ... He led the AL in homers allowed in 2011, giving up 35 (second-most in the big leagues). ... Of the 11 homers allowed by Lewis, eight have come against left-handed batters.

Hamilton encore: In his first game since making history with four homers in Tuesday's game, Josh Hamilton struck out in his first at-bat and ended up 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and a single.

Pinch-hit homer: David Murphy pinch-hit for Craig Gentry in the ninth with two men on base and one out. He hit a home run to right field off Orioles closer Jim Johnson to make it a 6-5 game.

Wasted opportunities: The Rangers loaded the bases with one out in the third but couldn't score. Elvis Andrus hit a ball back to the mound and starter Wei-Yin Chen came home to get the force out. The attempted double play throw hit Andrus in the back. So they stayed loaded for Hamilton, who hit a fly ball to left to end the inning. The deficit remained 3-0 at that point. ... In the eighth, the Rangers scored one and had two on with two outs for Michael Young, trying to put pressure on the Orioles. But Young struck out on a 3-2 pitch and Baltimore held its 6-2 lead.

Six straight Ks: Lewis had six straight strikeouts at one point early in his start, falling one short of the club record of seven set by Nolan Ryan (July 7, 1991) and Neftali Feliz (Aug. 7-13, 2009). He ended up striking out seven of eight batters in the first, second and third innings.

Good day for Torrealba at plate: The catcher came into Thursday batting just .196 with two RBIs. But he had a double in the third, an RBI single in the fourth and a double in the ninth. It was his first three-hit game since Game 3 of the ALCS in Detroit. It was his first regular season three-hit game since Aug. 8, 2011 vs. Seattle.

Communication breakdown: Elvis Andrus tried to catch a popup at the last second, bowling over Brandon Snyder who was camped under it near the mound in the seventh. Andrus was charged with the two-base error, but it didn't cost the Rangers a run.

Up next: The second game of this doubleheader features LHP Derek Holland (2-2, 4.43 ERA) against former Ranger RHP Tommy Hunter (2-1, 5.00 ERA).

BALTIMORE -- The Texas Rangers kept their batting order the same but did alter a few positions with Adrian Beltre going back into the field at third base. He'll DH the second game with Michael Young at 3B. Game 1 is also another chance for Brandon Snyder to get a start against his old club. The lineup (I'll add Baltimore as soon as we get it):

RANGERS
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
LF Josh Hamilton
3B Adrian Beltre
DH Michael Young
RF Nelson Cruz
C Yorvit Torrealba
1B Brandon Snyder
CF Craig Gentry

BALTIMORE -- Perhaps rain is the only thing that can stop Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton these days.

Mother Nature intervened Wednesday as wet weather postponed the Rangers-Baltimore Orioles game and prevented Hamilton from getting a chance at an encore one night after becoming the 16th player in big league history to hit four homers in a game.

The game is rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Thursday starting at 3:05 p.m. CST.

Game 2 will start at 6:05 p.m. as long as the first game is completed on time.

The Rangers will send Colby Lewis and Derek Holland to the mound. Lewis will pitch the first game. The Orioles will stick with Wei-Yin Chen in Game 1 and don't have a pitcher for Game 2 as they've decided to push back Jason Hammel, who has a sore knee. It's likely that Tommy Hunter will be called up from the minors and start on short rest.

"I don't like playing doubleheaders because it does something to your pitching, but what can you do?" Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We'll have to get through it like we did last time."

The postponement likely means Scott Feldman will be pressed into spot start duty at some point next week.

As soon as it was announced in the clubhouse that the game wasn't going to be play, a handful of Rangers players, including Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Brandon Snyder, Yorvit Torrealba, Craig Gentry and Elvis Andrus went sliding on the tarp to the cheers of the fans still in attendance at Camden Yards.

"We're kids, man," Hamilton said. "We've got to keep it fun."

Andrus claimed he had the longest slide, though Hamilton appeared to give him a run for his money.

BALTIMORE -- Adrian Beltre remains at the designated hitter spot on Wednesday because of the threat of some wet weather. Manager Ron Washington said he didn't want to take any chances. Beltre will likely be back at third base on Thursday if the field conditions are fine. The lineup:

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

ORIOLES
LF Ryan Flaherty (L)
SS J.J. Hardy
RF Nick Markakis (L)
CF Adam Jones
C Matt Wieters (S)
3B Wilson Betemit (S)
DH Chris Davis (L)
1B Mark Reynolds
2B Robert Andino