Texas Rangers

Monday's Rangers-Cubs lineups: Mitch Moreland batting fifth

For the sixth time in his career, Mitch Moreland will start a game batting fifth for the Rangers. He's there Monday as Lance Berkman sits with no DH at Wrigley Field and with A.J. Pierzynski getting a day off. Moreland also hit second five times and sixth through ninth 272 times. Moreland has hits in 11 of his past 14 games and his hitting .404 in that stretch to lift his average from .157 to .282.

Rangers lineup vs. RHP Scott Feldman: Ian Kinsler, 2b; Elvis Andrus, ss; Adrian Beltre, 3b; Nelson Cruz, rf; Mitch Moreland, 1b; Geovany Soto, c; David Murphy, lf; Leonys Martin, cf; Nick Tepesch, p.

Cubs lineup vs. RHP Nick Tepesch: David DeJesus, df; Starlin Castro, ss; Anthony Rizzo, 1b; Alfonso Soriano, lf; Nate Schierholtz, rf; Welington Castillo, c; Luis Valbuena, 3b; Darwin Barney, 2b; Scott Feldman, p.

-- Jeff Wilson

Rangers 4, Red Sox 3 (F)

ARLINGTON – The Texas Rangers had their first walk-off win of the season.

Adrian Beltre's single to right in the bottom of the ninth scored Elvis Andrus and lifted the Rangers to a 4-3 over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon at a sold-out Rangers Ballpark.

The win completed the Rangers' three-game sweep of the Red Sox.

With the game tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, Red Sox right-hander Clayton Mortensen entered. He struck out pinch-hitter Leonys Martin and Ian Kinsler for the first two outs.

But Elvis Andrus flared a single to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The Red Sox then intentionally walked Lance Berkman to get to Beltre, who came through with the game-deciding hit on a 1-2 count.

The Red Sox had taken an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out, two-run homer by David Ortiz. They extended their lead to 3-0 in the second on a solo shot by David Ross.

But Rangers starter Yu Darvish settled into a zone after that and went on to throw five scoreless innings. He wound up tying his career high with 14 strikeouts, as he allowed three runs on four hits over seven innings.

The offense eventually came through for Darvish, too. Mitch Moreland swatted a solo homer off Red Sox lefty Jon Lester in the third, and Nelson Cruz had a two-run shot in the sixth.

With the game tied 3-3, the Rangers went to Michael Kirkman in the eighth. He retired the first two batters before issuing consecutive walks. Jason Frasor entered and ended the threat by getting Mike Napoli to bounce into a fielder’s choice.

In the bottom of the eighth, David Murphy reached on a two-out single but Moreland struck out to end it.

Rangers closer Joe Nathan worked around a one-out walk and single in a scoreless ninth, setting up the walk-off heroics.

-- Drew Davison

Today's Rangers-Red Sox lineups

A.J. Pierzynski caught all nine innings on Saturday night, and then told manager Ron Washington he wanted to start today's game. Washington had no objections, as Pierzynski is back in the starting lineup today against Red Sox lefty Jon Lester.

Texas -- 1. Ian Kinsler, 2b; 2. Elvis Andrus, ss; 3. Lance Berkman, dh; 4. Adrian Beltre, 3b; 5. Nelson Cruz, rf; 6. A.J. Pierzynski, c; 7. Jeff Baker, lf; 8. Mitch Moreland, 1b; 9. Craig Gentry, cf.

RHP Yu Darvish (5-1, 2.33 ERA)

Boston -- 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, cf; 2. Daniel Nava, rf; 3. Dustin Pedroia, 2b; 4. David Ortiz, dh; 5. Mike Napoli, 1b; 6. Mike Carp, lf; 7. David Ross, c; 8. Stephen Drew, ss; 9. Pedro Ciriaco, 3b.

LHP Jon Lester (4-0, 3.11 ERA)

Wrapping up the Rangers' 5-1 victory over the Red Sox

Ian Kinsler got things going quickly for the Texas Rangers, sending John Lackey’s first pitch of the night into the left-field seats. It was his 28^th career leadoff homer, and the Rangers have won nine consecutive games when Kinsler leads off with a homer.

“I was just ready to hit,” Kinsler said. “He gave me a good pitch and I put a good swing on it.”

Kinsler now has four career homers off Lackey, which ties for his most off a single pitcher along with John Danks and Joe Saunders.

Kinsler’s hit was the first of 10 for the Rangers, who are batting .378 over the first two games of the series.

Here are other notes from the game:

* Alexi Ogando earned his first win since April 8. He held the Red Sox to one run on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six-plus innings. Ogando battled for most of the night, but was pleased with his fastball command. “I couldn’t locate all my pitches and some of the hitters took advantage of that,” Ogando said. “I felt really good about my fastball and I was able to pound them inside the white lines and they really helped me with my slider.”

* Craig Gentry came through with his first homer of the season, a two-run shot in the eighth inning that snapped a 100-game homerless drought. Gentry finished the game by going 2-for-4 with a career-high-tying three RBIs.

* Closer Joe Nathan worked a perfect ninth inning, his first game action since April 26.

* With the win, the Rangers guaranteed themselves of winning the series. They are now 6-1-3 in their 10 series this season. Texas has had a good track record against Boston since the 2009 season, too, as it has gone 27-12.

-- Drew Davison

Rangers 5, Red Sox 1 (F)

ARLINGTON – Ian Kinsler swatted a leadoff homer in the first inning, Alexi Ogando had his third consecutive quality start and the Texas Rangers pulled away for a 5-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night at Rangers Ballpark.

With the win, the Rangers clinched their sixth series victory and improved to 19-11 on the season.

Kinsler started things off by taking Red Sox starter John Lackey deep to left. It wasn’t a close call, although Boston outfielder Daniel Nava looked confused as he played it as though it would be a routine fly out.

But Nava came through offensively for the Red Sox with an RBI single in the second that scored David Ortiz and tied the game at 1-1.

The Rangers regained a 3-1 lead in the fourth. Craig Gentry had an infield RBI single that scored two runs when the Red Sox made an error.

Gentry then sealed the game with a two-run homer in the eighth inning off Red Sox reliever Koji Uehara. It was Gentry’s first of the season, and third career blast.

Ogando earned his first victory since April 8. He allowed one run on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six innings. Robbie Ross, Tanner Scheppers and Joe Nathan pitched the final three innings.

-- Drew Davison

Tonight's Rangers-Red Sox lineups

David Murphy is out with a stomach bug, which means Craig Gentry and Leonys Martin are starting for the first time together. They will be roaming center and left field for Alexi Ogando, who is looking for his first win since April 8.

Texas -- 1. Ian Kinsler, 2b; 2. Elvis Andrus, ss; 3. Lance Berkman, dh; 4. Adrian Beltre, 3b; 5. A.J. Pierzynski, c; 6. Nelson Cruz, rf; 7. Mitch Moreland, 1b; 8. Craig Gentry, cf; 9. Leonys Martin, lf.

RHP Alexi Ogando (2-2, 3.38 ERA)

Boston -- 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, cf; 2. Shane Victorino, rf; 3. Dustin Pedroia, 2b; 4. David Ortiz, dh; 5. Mike Napoli, 1b; 6. Daniel Nava, lf; 7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c; 8. Will Middlebrooks, 3b; 9. Stephen Drew, ss.

RHP John Lackey (1-1, 2.61 ERA)

Derek Holland turns in his best start of the season

A.J. Pierzynski called it the best game he’s seen Derek Holland pitch. Holland wasn’t going to disagree with that statement.

Holland threw eight scoreless innings, scattering six hits with one walk and nine strikeouts, to lead the Texas Rangers’ to a 7-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night at Rangers Ballpark.

The Red Sox entered the game as the best team in the majors, as they are the only team at the 20-win mark.

“That was pretty impressive tonight,” first baseman Mitch Moreland said of Holland's outing. “He did whatever he wanted to do with the ball. That was a lot of fun to watch and play behind because he was pretty dominant.”

Said Pierzynski: “He had all of his pitches going. His fastball was really good and he used his slider early in the game to get some strikeouts. And he had a changeup whenever he was behind in the count.”

The 112-pitch outing was the best to date for Holland, who improved to 2-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.74. He also continued his dominance against the Red Sox, as he is now 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA in six career starts against them.

Holland retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced, and induced inning-ending double play grounders in the fourth and fifth.

In the fourth, Shane Victorino had a leadoff single, but Holland responded by striking out Dustin Pedroia and getting David Ortiz to bounce into a double play.

“That was huge,” Holland said. “I never gave in and continued to plug away. Those are two good guys there and I came away on top.”

In the fifth, Holland got Will Middlebrooks to roll into a double play after he issued a one-out walk to Jonny Gomes.

Holland ended his night by stranding four combined base runners the final three innings. He also benefited from the most run support he’s received this season. Going into the game, the Rangers had given Holland a total of nine runs over his first five starts.

“I always treat it as if it’s a 0-0 game,” Holland said. “That’s what I told myself. I want to keep the momentum on my side. Those guys were swinging it well for me tonight and I wanted to do everything I could to keep them on fire like they were.”

Asked if he felt it was his best performance of the season, Holland said: “I’d say it was probably one of my best ones for sure, but I’ve got to give credit to my defense and A.J. has been great back there for me."

-- Drew Davison

Rangers 7, Red Sox 0 (F)

ARLINGTON – The offense came through with timely hits, Derek Holland had his best start of the season and the Texas Rangers rolled to a 7-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night at Rangers Ballpark.

The Rangers’ offense had been reeling with runners in scoring position, but finally broke through with a season-high 17 hits. They scored a run in the second on an infield single by Craig Gentry, and then broke loose for five runs in the fourth inning.

With two outs and a runner on first, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus had consecutive singles that produced one run. Lance Berkman then drew a walk to load the bases, and Adrian Beltre delivered a bases-clearing, three-run double.

Beltre had been 4-for-his-last-34 with runners in scoring position. Beltre wound up scoring, too, as Nelson Cruz singled to center.

The Rangers extended their lead to 7-0 on an RBI double by Kinsler in the fifth.

That was more than enough for Holland, who threw eight scoreless innings, scattering six hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. He improved to 2-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.74 for the season.

Reliever Derek Lowe worked the ninth, and held the shutout in tact. It's the Rangers' fifth shutout of the season, as they are tied for most in the American League with Seattle and Tampa Bay.

Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli, in his first game back at Rangers Ballpark, went 0-for-4 and ended the game by grounding out.

-- Drew Davison

Tonight's Rangers-Red Sox lineups

Texas Rangers outfielder David Murphy is out of the starting lineup again, as Jeff Baker gets the start in leftfield with the Boston Red Sox starting lefty Felix Doubront tonight.

Other than that, it's the usual suspects for the Rangers.

Texas -- 1. Ian Kinsler, 2b; 2. Elvis Andrus, ss; 3. Lance Berkman, dh; 4. Adrian Beltre, 3b; 5. Nelson Cruz, rf; 6. A.J. Pierzynski, c; 7. Jeff Baker, lf; 8. Mitch Moreland, 1b; 9. Craig Gentry, cf.

LHP Derek Holland (1-2, 3.38 ERA)

Boston -- 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, cf; 2. Shane Victorino, rf; 3. Dustin Pedroia, 2b; 4. David Ortiz, dh; 5. Mike Napoli, 1b; 6. Jonny Gomes, lf; 7. Will Middlebrooks, 3b; 8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c; 9. Pedro Ciriaco, ss.

LHP Felix Doubront (3-0, 4.24 ERA)

Adrian Beltre struggling with runners in scoring position

Adrian Beltre has been a 100-RBI guy the past three seasons, but he has not gotten off to that type of pace this season.

Beltre swatted his sixth homer of the season, a solo shot in the second inning, for his 12th RBI on Thursday night, and had chances to do more damage later in the game.

With the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, Beltre bounced into an inning-ending double play on a backdoor slider by White Sox reliever Matt Lindstrom. Then, with runners at first and second and two outs in the eighth, Beltre struck out.

Beltre is now 1-for-last-16 with runners in scoring position, and is batting .118 with RISP this season.

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

Beltre was optimistic that his swing is starting to come around, though. The second inning homer is a good sign, as he's gone deep in three of the last six games.

"That's what I want to think," he said. "I feel better today even though I missed two at-bats in key situations where I didn't come through. But I saw the ball better today, and hopefully tomorrow I'll improve."

-- Drew Davison