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Texas MLB Capsules: Fox picks up short-handed Twins in 4-3 win
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins chose Matt Fox to start Friday's game not because of his dazzling stuff or eye-popping statistics. He was their only option.
Turns out, he was the perfect choice.
Denard Span delivered the go-ahead single in the seventh inning, emergency starter Fox pitched 5 2-3 innings in his major league debut, and the depleted Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers 4-3 on Friday night.
Fox allowed two runs and four hits, giving the Twins' staff a major boost after scheduled starter Nick Blackburn was forced to pitch in Thursday's 13-inning loss to Detroit.
Fox said he got the call about his promotion around 2:30 a.m. and estimates he only got about 45 minutes of sleep.
"From the time I got the call last night until I got here, everything went really fast," Fox said. "I was just speechless and didn't know what to say to people. I was so excited."
Alex Burnett (2-2), who arrived with Fox from Triple-A earlier Friday, allowed a run in 1 1-3 innings. Matt Capps recorded five outs for his eighth save with the Twins and 34th overall.
With one out and runners on first and third in the eighth, Capps struck out Nelson Cruz and got Ian Kinsler to ground out.
Capps got a boost when right fielder Jason Repko threw out Alex Cora trying to advance from first to third on a single with one out in the ninth.
Cora said he decided to try and reach third as soon as he saw the ball roll through the infield.
"I like the aggressiveness, but sometimes you just have to be certain," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "The situation will always dictate how aggressive you can be."
Josh Hamilton singled with one out in the eighth, and then left the game with lower back stiffness. Hamilton had missed the Rangers last two games with a sore knee. He is day-to-day.
The Rangers went ahead in the seventh when Kinsler scored on Julio Borbon's squeeze bunt. Rangers starter Derek Holland (2-3) was unable to hold the lead.
J.J. Hardy tied it with an RBI single off reliever Alexi Ogando. Span put the Twins ahead when his single off Matt Harrison scored Repko.
"We got 'em over and got 'em in. That's the way you play the game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We never gave into them and heck of a ballgame for us."
The Twins were scrambling to find enough arms just to get through the game against a solid Texas lineup. Besides Blackburn, starter Brian Duensing was also used on Thursday. Relievers Jeff Manship, Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier have been used extensively the past few days and were not available.
Fox's debut was more impressive considering it came on a night when 34 of the Twins all-time greats were in attendance.
The game started a half hour later than usual so the Twins could honor the 50 greatest players in team history during a pregame ceremony. Twins legends such as Harmon Killebrew, Kent Hrbek and Tony Oliva were introduced and gathered around home plate as video tributes played on the big screen and fans cheered.
"I was definitely surprised, but it was a good surprise," he said.
The sold out crowd at chilly Target Field gave Fox a standing ovation after Gardenhire removed him with two outs in the sixth.
"I just told him I hope you took it all in," Gardenhire said. "First start, you're out here and you pitched your tail off. I hope you took it all in and understand that was a big league performance. I just wanted him to know that. That was pretty good."
The Rangers knew next to nothing about Fox, and it showed.
"When a guy does something like that, it's just location," Kinsler said. "We just weren't able to put anything together against him."
Twins rookie Danny Valencia had two hits, but left the game in the seventh with a tight hamstring.
Notes: Cliff Lee returned to the Rangers after flying to Dallas on Wednesday to receive a cortisone shot in his aching back. Lee will throw a bullpen session on Saturday, after which the team will determine if he will make his next scheduled start on Tuesday. ... Twins starter Scott Baker received a cortisone shot after leaving Thursday's start after two innings. Manager Ron Gardenhire said Baker will likely miss his next two starts. ... An MRI and X-ray on Twins' OF Jason Kubel's left wrist revealed no significant damage. Kubel has missed the last three games, but hopes to return to the lineup on Sunday.
Lee returns to Rangers after shot
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cliff Lee returned to the Texas Rangers on Friday after spending the previous two days in Dallas, hoping that a cortisone shot in his ailing back will help him get back to his dominating self.
Lee had been getting progressively worse over his last four starts, culminating with a loss to Kansas City in which he lasted just 4 2-3 innings and allowed seven runs — four earned — on 10 hits. In his last four starts, spanning 23 innings pitched, Lee is 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA.
He flew to Dallas and had the cortisone shot on Wednesday. On Friday, Lee said his back was still sore, but he wasn't sure if that was from the shot itself or not. He is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday, after which the team will determine if he will make his next scheduled start on Tuesday.
"It's probably what I should've done a couple weeks ago, but the competitive side of me wants to go out there and pitch every time," Lee said.
The lefty said his back has been bothering him for a few weeks and was affecting his ability to locate pitches.
"I don't want to say this is the reason why I pitched bad. There's more to it than that," Lee said. "I still should be able to bear down and make pitches but definitely has affected my mechanics a little bit and my ability to be consistent with location."
Lee finished July 9-4 with a 2.40 ERA. But as the back problem surfaced in August, his ERA gradually rose to 3.37 and after allowing just nine home runs in his first 21 starts of the season, he has given up six in his last four.
"I can pitch with it," he said. "I have been pitching with it, but I want to be able to go out there and be me, go out there and locate pitches and be more consistent with location and I just haven't been. I think this is a big reason why."
The Rangers started Friday with a 10-game lead over Oakland in the AL West, so they can afford to be cautious with Lee to make sure he is ready for the playoffs. But manager Ron Washington said the team will wait to make any decision until they see how he responds in the bullpen outing on Saturday.
"If he's available to pitch Tuesday, he will pitch Tuesday," Washington said. "If there's any doubt, he won't pitch."
Josh Hamilton, who leads the AL with a .361 average, returned to the lineup as the DH on Friday night after missing the game Wednesday to rest his aching knee. Hamilton took a shot on Tuesday and said the knee feels much better.
Washington said Hamilton was the DH to give Vladimir Guerrero and extra day off and he will be back in the outfield on Saturday.
The Rangers reinstated right-hander Dustin Nippert (head contusion) from the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of left-hander Clay Rapada from Triple-A Oklahoma City to beef up the bullpen.
The team also agreed to terms with former NL All-Star Mark Prior on a minor league contract. Prior will report to Oklahoma City and sign the contract on Saturday after spending the last month pitching for Orange County in the independent Golden Baseball League.
Prior will turn 30 on Tuesday and hasn't pitched in a big league game since 2006.
Shoulder problems caused him to miss all of 2007 and 2008 and spent last year in the farm system of his hometown San Diego Padres. He signed with Orange County in August and has allowed one unearned run in nine relief appearances with 22 strikeouts and five walks.
Prior's five-year major league career with the Chicago Cubs ended in 2006. The right-hander had a 42-29 record and a 3.51 ERA in 106 starts. He made the NL All-Star team in 2003, when he was 18-6. But the deal was made more the long-term and it is highly unlikely Prior will factor into the pennant chase this season.
The team also recalled catcher Taylor Teagarden from Oklahoma City, recalled right-hander Omar Beltre from Triple-A and placed him on the 60-day disabled list with a sprained right ankle and announced that outfielder Brandon Boggs cleared waivers and was assigned to Oklahoma City.
Prior agrees to minor league deal with Rangers
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Oft-injured former All-Star Mark Prior has agreed to a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers.
The team says Prior will sign the contract Saturday and report to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Prior will turn 30 on Tuesday and hasn't pitched in a big league game since 2006.
Shoulder problems caused him to miss all of 2007 and 2008 and he spent last year in the farm system of his hometown San Diego Padres. He signed with the Orange County Flyers of the independent Golden Baseball League in August and has allowed one unearned run in nine relief appearances.
Prior's five-year run with the Chicago Cubs ended in 2006. The right-hander had a 42-29 record and a 3.51 ERA in 106 starts. He made the NL All-Star team in 2003, when he was 18-6.
Hamilton leaves game in 8th inning
MINNEAPOLIS — Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton left Friday night’s game against Minnesota in the eighth inning with stiffness in his lower back.
Hamilton singled to right field against Randy Flores with one out in the eighth. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire put right-hander Matt Capps in to face Nelson Cruz, and while Capps was warming up, Hamilton summoned the trainers.
After a brief conversation, Hamilton was replaced by Cristian Guzman at first base. He is listed as day-to-day.
Hamilton had a painkilling shot in his knee on Tuesday and missed the final two games of the Kansas City series.
Hamilton was the designated hitter against the Twins and had two hits and a walk to raise his league-leading average to .362.
Ojeda's sac fly lifts D'backs over Astros 4-3
PHOENIX (AP) — Augie Ojeda hears it from interim manager Kirk Gibson nearly every day, often several times a game: Augie get ready, Augie get ready.
Even in a smaller role this season, he always is. A last-second pinch-hit replacement for B.J. Upton, Ojeda hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 4-3 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
"He hasn't played as much as he's used to, but he's as ready as anybody, real professional," Gibson said. "When you put him in situations like that, you just know he's going to come through."
Ojeda got his chance thanks to a hunch by Gibson. With the game tied at 3, the Diamondbacks had Ryan Roberts on third with one out after he led off with a double and moved over on Gerardo Parra's groundout. Gibson initially sent Upton out to the on-deck circle to face Wilton Lopez, then pulled back the former All-Star in favor of Ojeda, a career utilityman.
Part of it was that Upton was nursing a sore shoulder, but also because Gibson believed Ojeda could come through.
He was right. Ojeda hit a fly to center off Wilton (5-1) just deep enough to score Roberts from third, giving Arizona its seventh win in eight games.
"It's the hardest thing in baseball when you sit around waiting for your name to be called upon," Ojeda said. "You've got to be ready to pinch hit, pinch bunt, defense, whatever. Whenever you sit on the bench for two to three hours then go into the game, it's real difficult. It looks easy, but it's not."
Daniel Hudson gave Ojeda the chance with six effective innings, Aaron Heilman (5-5) allowed a hit in the eighth and Juan Gutierrez worked the ninth for his seventh save.
Adam LaRoche drove in two runs with a double in the first inning and a single in the fifth to reach 89 RBIs, eclipsing Tony Clark's 2005 team record for a first baseman by two.
Houston had been playing well, winning nine of 11, including a three-game sweep that put a dent in St. Louis' playoff chances.
Brett Myers gave the Astros a chance by extending his streak of lasting at least six innings to 28 games and Michael Bourn pushed his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the eighth.
The Astros just couldn't seem to get the break they needed, too many balls hit by the Diamondbacks falling in, too many of theirs falling into Arizona's gloves on great defensive plays.
"The effort was there. It was just the balls were kind of spinning away from them," Houston manager Brad Mills said. "We saw them dive for a ball that went for extra bases. It seemed like it came off everyone's bat. It is going to go to the lines anyway but you couldn't have thrown them out there any better."
Hudson has been sharp since arriving from the White Sox in a July 30 trade, lasting at least seven innings in all six starts for Arizona with 4-1 record and 1.85 ERA.
The rookie right-hander didn't allow a hit against the Astros until Angel Sanchez's leadoff single in the fourth inning, then gave up a run when Hunter Pence followed with another single and Jeff Keppinger made it three straight with a just-through-the-hole RBI hit to left.
The Astros got another run off him in the fifth on Myers' late-swinging double that Parra just missed in right, and a run-scoring single by Sanchez to nearly the same spot.
Hudson was replaced by a pinch hitter in the sixth after allowing two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts.
"I just go out there and try to attack the zone, and they battled through a lot of at-bats and kind of got my pitch count up a little bit," Hudson said.
Myers has lasted at least six innings in all his starts this season, the longest streak in team history and longest in the majors since Arizona's Curt Schilling reached the seventh in 35 straight starts in 2002. He allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings.
Myers' six-or-more streak appeared to be headed to a quick and ugly end against the hot-hitting Diamondbacks. He gave up a single to Stephen Drew in a lengthy opening at-bat, a walk to Chris Young, then a run-scoring double by LaRoche.
After escaping that early shakiness with three weak popouts to end the inning, Myers found trouble again in the fifth, when Young and LaRoche followed Parra's leadoff triple with run-scoring singles that put Arizona up 3-2.
"I couldn't get my curveball over for the most part today," said Myers, who walked three and struck out four. "I had to battle. It is tough when you go out there without any of your best stuff."
Notes: Astros 3B coach Dave Clark turned 48 on Friday, a birthday shared by snowboarder Shaun White and actor Charlie Sheen. ... Upton was out of the starting lineup for the second straight game to give his sore left shoulder another day to heal. He tweaked the shoulder while swinging in the seventh inning against San Diego on Monday.
-- John Marshall
