Texas MLB Capsules: Michaels leads Astros past Cubs in 12 innings

CHICAGO — Both bullpens were spent, runs were scarce and the Houston Astros had trouble making a quick getaway Wednesday. That’s OK. They’ll take it. Their 12-inning victory over the Chicago Cubs made it all worth it.

“It did take a while,” manager Brad Mills said after the 4-3 victory. “We kept battling. In a game like this our bullpen was on fumes.”

Pinch-hitter Jason Michaels delivered a two-out, two-run double in the 12th and scored on Angel Sanchez’s single, giving the Astros a 4-1 lead. They needed all of it after Geovany Soto hit a two-run homer off Gustavo Chacin in the bottom half.

Ryan Theriot followed Soto’s 13th homer with a base hit and pinch-hitter Jeff Baker walked before Tyler Colvin lined out to right, giving Chacin his first career save.

The Astros took two of three in the series at Wrigley Field, bouncing back after Tuesday’s difficult 14-7 loss that featured 13 unanswered runs by the Cubs and a three-homer night by Chicago slugger Aramis Ramirez.

“To get that series win feels great,” Michaels said. “Two outs, second and third, I was just trying to have a good at-bat and get myself in position. ... I got lucky and found the gap.”

Jeff Keppinger and Chris Johnson started the 12th with consecutive singles. After Jason Castro forced Keppinger at third with a bunt back to Bob Howry (1-3), James Russell relieved and Michael Bourn’s grounder moved the runners to second and third.

Michaels greeted Jeff Stevens, the seventh Chicago reliever, with a drive into the alley in left-center.

Chicago threatened in the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th but couldn’t get the big hit, leaving 16 runners on base for the game.

“We scored 14 last night,” manager Lou Piniella said the day after he announced his retirement at the end of the season. “If we would have got all the guys we left on (base) today, we would have scored 14 today. We just didn’t get them in.”

The Cubs had second and third in the 11th before Brandon Lyon (6-4) got Derrek Lee to fly out. Chicago loaded the bases with one out in the 10th on a double by Starlin Castro and two walks before Lyon struck out Kosuke Fukudome and retired pinch-hitter Soto on a fly to left.

Houston tied it at 1 in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Pedro Feliz started the inning with a drive into the left-field bleachers off Chicago starter Ted Lilly.

“I made a bad pitch to Pedro Feliz. I feel it cost us the game,” Lilly said.

After the teams combined for 37 runs in the first two games of the series, the finale was a contrast for most of the day with a light wind blowing in at Wrigley Field as Lilly and Brett Myers locked up in a pitchers’ duel.

Myers allowed five hits in seven innings, including Lilly’s single in the fifth that snapped the pitcher’s skid at 0 for 33 dating to last season. Lilly then motored all the way from first to score on Starlin Castro’s two-out double to left.

Lilly, the subject of trade speculation, yielded seven hits in 7 1-3 innings, including two singles by Myers.

“I don’t know,” Lilly said when asked if expected to be around for the rest of the season. “There is a lot of speculation and rumors that are thrown out there. From my experience, they don’t necessarily mean something is going to happen.”

NOTES: Cubs bench coach Alan Trammell said he appreciates having his name mentioned as a possible successor for Piniella, adding it’s too early to talk about that with more than two months left in the season. Trammell managed Detroit from 2003-05 and compiled a 186-300 record, including a 119-loss season in his first year. “Losing 119 games and you’re almost part of baseball history in a negative way that certainly tests you in a lot of ways,” Trammell said. Trammell, a star shortstop for the Tigers who also works with Cubs infielders, said he does want to continue to be involved in the game, whether it be coaching or managing. ... Astros ace Roy Oswalt, also rumored to be moving at or before the trade deadline, said after the game his preference would be to join a team that has a chance to be in the playoffs. “I’m just going to wait until they come to me and ask me what they have for a deal and what they are thinking about,” he said. “Wait for my options and go from there.”

Tigers beat Rangers 4-1 to end 7-game losing skid

DETROIT — Max Scherzer threw seven scoreless innings and Gerald Laird hit a two-run homer, helping the Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 on Wednesday to snap a seven-game skid.

Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera drove in runs in the seventh to give Detroit a four-run lead.

Scherzer (7-7) gave up four hits and three walks, throwing a career-high 123 pitches. Phil Coke pitched a perfect eighth and Jose Valverde had a shaky ninth.

Valverde walked Ian Kinsler, hit Vladimir Guerrero and allowed both to advance on a wild pitch. Josh Hamilton’s groundout pulled Texas within three. Nelson Cruz struck out and David Murphy grounded out to end the threat.

Colby Lewis (9-6) allowed four runs and nine hits over seven innings for the AL West-leading Rangers.

Lewis let the first two Tigers he faced to get on base before getting out of the jam by retiring the next three in the first inning.

He walked Carlos Guillen to start the second, then allowed the light-hitting Laird to hit his fourth homer of the season and first in nearly a month.

Detroit stranded eight runners and Texas left six on base, but the Tigers’ top two hitters came through in the seventh inning.

Ordonez, who failed to drive in runs when he had chances in each of his first three at-bats, hit an RBI single and Cabrera followed with a sacrifice fly.

The Rangers had won three straight and five of the first six games after the All-Star break.

NOTES: The Tigers recalled Scott Sizemore from Triple-A Toledo to give them another option at 3B with Brandon Inge (broken left hand) out 4-6 weeks. ... Texas will return home Thursday with LHP Cliff Lee facing RHP Jered Weaver and the Los Angeles Angels.

--Larry Lage

Nolan Ryan says bankruptcy hurting Texas Rangers

FORT WORTH — Keeping the Texas Rangers in bankruptcy court by delaying the Aug. 4 auction will hurt the team and maybe even cost them slugger Josh Hamilton after this season, Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan told a federal bankruptcy judge Wednesday.

Ryan said he was testifying in his capacity as the team’s president, although he and Pittsburgh sports attorney Chuck Greenberg have the endorsement of Major League Baseball to buy the Rangers and want to close the deal soon. The sale was delayed for months by angry creditors and is now part of a contentious bankruptcy case.

Creditors and even the court-appointed restructuring officer want the auction delayed so other bidders can line up financing. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge D. Michael Lynn is to decide Thursday whether to delay the auction after hearing more testimony.

After the team filed for Chapter 11 protection in May, it received a $21.5 million Major League Baseball loan to stay afloat during bankruptcy, in addition to $18.45 million in league loans since last year. Ryan said the team needs to exit bankruptcy to have enough money for acquisitions and expected increases in some players’ salaries.

Hamilton, whose .357 batting average through Tuesday leads the major leagues, signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Rangers in January. Ryan said he could command a salary of $8 million to $10 million next year. Hamilton won’t be eligible for free agency this offseason, but if he and the Rangers can’t strike a deal on his salary for 2011, he is eligible for salary arbitration.

“I don’t know that I want to be there (if) Josh Hamilton doesn’t come back next year,” Ryan said.

The Rangers president said recent deals to land ace pitcher Cliff Lee and catcher Bengie Molina came “at a very expensive cost” because of the bankruptcy. Although the Rangers got more than $4 million with the players, the team had to give up more than it wanted: first baseman Justin Smoak and three minor leaguers.

He also said the team needs a new video board, which could cost from $5 million to $12 million, but must place the order by the end of August.

Ryan said not signing international players and depleting its minor league teams will hurt the club down the road, although those decisions have helped the team stay in budget as it makes a run for the American League West title and first postseason berth since 1999.

Under cross-examination from a creditors’ attorney, Andrew Leblanc, Ryan said the team was $5 million ahead of its budget, had larger crowds since acquiring Lee two weeks ago, and was already selling tickets for playoff games.

Ryan said he had not been aware that the team could appeal to the bankruptcy judge if Major League Baseball rejected a request to change the budget. Ryan also said some of the budget-cutting decisions came last year after team owner Tom Hicks’ sports group defaulted on about $525 million in loans to lenders.

Leblanc also tried to show that the financing guarantee for the Greenberg-Ryan group, which bid about $575 million and was chosen as the buyer after bidding last year, may not expire on Aug. 12.

But Greenberg testified Wednesday that the funding expires 180 days from Feb. 12, when the first papers were executed — not later dates when the group’s purchase agreement was revised. He said his investors and lenders were already frustrated in the sale’s delay.

“We were anticipating (closing the deal) in early April,” Greenberg said.

The Rangers wanted to sell the team to Greenberg-Ryan’s group and repay creditors $75 million when it filed for bankruptcy. Since then, angry creditors have complained that the Greenberg-Ryan bid wasn’t the highest and squabbles and even lawsuits have come over everything from document access to the bidding procedures.

At least four other bidders have emerged: Houston businessman Jim Crane and Dallas investor Jeff Beck, both cleared by MLB to submit bids, and two unidentified parties. There has been speculation that Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Mark Cuban is one of them, though he has said only that he is “interested.”

--Angela K. Brown