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Texas MLB Capsules: Rangers lose no-hitter in ninth
ARLINGTON (AP) — The Texas Rangers flirted with the sixth no-hitter in the majors this season. Joe Mauer turned it into another near no-hitter.
Mauer became the fifth player this season to spoil a no-hit bid in the ninth inning, ruining the effort of starter Rich Harden and three relievers with a clean single off All-Star closer Neftali Feliz in the Rangers' 4-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night in a meeting of division leaders.
Rangers president Nolan Ryan threw two of his record seven no-hitters for Texas, and he was in the owner's box rooting for another one.
Then he saw Mauer, hitting .330, in the batter's box.
"When I looked at who was hitting in the ninth I worried about Mauer because he's a good hitter and with Feliz's fastball you feel like if he leaves a ball in the hitting zone that he's going to have a shot at it," Ryan said.
Harden, who was activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, went 6 2-3 innings before being lifted after throwing 111 pitches. Matt Harrison got the final out of the seventh. Darren O'Day pitched the eighth and Feliz got one in the ninth before Mauer broke through.
"I felt like I made a great pitch but he was able to make the adjustment and hit it," Feliz said through an interpreter.
Mauer broke up a no-hit bid by Gavin Floyd of the Chicago White Sox on May 6, 2008 with a one-out double in the ninth.
"We had some opportunities where Harden walked a couple guys and we just couldn't get that hit to get a couple runs across the board," Mauer said. "But you definitely don't want to get no-hit. It's nice to get a hit up there but we want runs."
Harden had the longest no-hit outing in Rangers history among starters who didn't finish the game. Afterward, he was philosophical rather than angry.
"That's baseball," he said. "We had Feliz, who's one of the best closers in the game facing Mauer, who's one of the best hitters in the game. That's the way it goes."
Texas fell two outs shy of its first no-hitter since Kenny Rogers' perfect game against California on July 28, 1994.
There have been five no-hitters this season, including perfect games by Oakland's Dallas Braden and Philadelphia's Roy Halladay. The last no-hitter was Matt Garza of Tampa Bay against Detroit on July 26.
The home plate umpire Monday night was Jim Joyce. He was the first base umpire who made the incorrect call with two outs in the ninth inning that cost Detroit Armando Galarraga a perfect game.
The Twins went through a similar situation to Harden's on Aug. 15, when Kevin Slowey was lifted after seven innings without allowing a hit. Reliever Jon Rauch gave up a hit with one out in the eighth.
Harden (5-4) struck out six. His fifth walk was of Michael Cuddyer and it brought manager Ron Washington to the mound for a lengthy discussion. It wasn't until Joyce came to the mound, where the entire Rangers infield was already patting Harden on the back, that the pitching change was made.
"I wasn't going to sit around and let him throw 120 pitches out there," Washington said. "The seventh inning was going to be his last one anyway."
Day, a submarine-throwing right-hander, got a fortunate bounce for an out when Delmon Young's leadoff grounder in the eighth ricocheted off first base. Rookie Mitch Moreland retrieved the ball and flipped to O'Day covering first.
Feliz had walked a batter in the ninth before Mauer broke up the no-hit bid.
Harden, who had been on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis, walked the leadoff hitters in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but his infield turned double plays in the fifth and sixth.
Harden's last major league start was Aug. 7 at Oakland, taking the loss while allowing three runs in 2 1-3 innings. Harden showed he was ready to be activated when he allowed one run and struck out 10 in a six-inning minor league rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Harden has been mostly a disappointment for the Rangers after signing as a free agent last winter for a guaranteed $7.5 million. That includes a $1 million buyout if an $11.5 million mutual option for next season isn't exercised.
Harden has been on the disabled list twice this season and nine times in six seasons. He missed six weeks earlier this year with a left gluteal muscle strain, then made only two starts after that before going on the DL again.
David Murphy had a two-run triple in the first for the Rangers, who were returning from a 2-5 trip.
Twins starter Nick Blackburn (7-8) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings, losing for the seventh time in his last eight decisions. Blackburn was called up from Triple-A Rochester on Sunday after making four minor league starts.
Murphy's triple was upheld by the umpiring crew when a video review clearly showed that the drive hit high on the center field wall and stayed in the ballpark.
Murphy's liner just eluded the glove of leaping Twins center fielder Denard Span, striking the top edge of the padding on the 8-foot wall and bouncing back toward the infield.
Murphy went to third standing up after Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero scored following infield singles.
"It was good to get Rich an early cushion there just to kind of put him in a little bit of a comfort zone with it being his first start in a couple of weeks," Murphy said.
The last time there was a no-hitter against the Twins was when David Wells threw a perfect game for the New York Yankees in 1998.
NOTES: The Rangers also activated C Matt Treanor, who was in the lineup after being out since July 23 with a strained right knee ligament. To open roster spots, C Taylor Teagarden was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City and RHP Scott Feldman went on the 15-day DL for the first time in his career with a bone bruise in his right knee. ... The Twins modified their pregame workout to spend as little time as possible in the triple-digit afternoon heat. Manager Ron Gardenhire had his starting position players take batting practice with the first group and relief pitchers shagged fly balls early in the session before they retreated to the air-conditioned clubhouse.
Rangers activate Harden, Treanor from 15-day DL
ARLINGTON (AP) — The Texas Rangers activated right-hander Rich Harden and catcher Matt Treanor from the 15-day disabled list before Monday night's game against the Minnesota Twins.
Harden started for the AL West-leading Rangers in the opener of a four-game series against AL Central-leading Minnesota.
Catcher Taylor Teagarden was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City and right-hander Scott Feldman went on the 15-day DL for the first time in his career with a bone bruise in his right knee sustained in Saturday's game at Baltimore.
Harden was out with right shoulder tendinitis, his second DL stay this season. He struck out 10 in a rehab start for Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Harden had made two starts for Texas since his first DL stint from June 12-July 30 with a left gluteal muscle strain. His last start for the Rangers was Aug. 7 at Oakland, taking the loss while allowing three runs in 2 1-3 innings.
Treanor strained a right knee ligament July 23 against the Los Angeles Angels. He went 3 for 15 in five rehab starts for Oklahoma City.
Rangers manager Ron Washington had Treanor in Monday night's lineup. Washington breaks the catching into five-game blocks, and he said he'll probably use No. 1 Bengie Molina for three games and Treanor for the other two.
Washington said Teagarden will be back with the Rangers when rosters expand in September.
Also for the Rangers, second baseman Ian Kinsler will have an MRI on his strained left groin on Tuesday to determine the next step in his rehab.
Kinsler said he's anxious to get his minor league assignment under way and get back on the field for a Rangers team that's coming off a 2-5 trip marked by inconsistent hitting.
"There's no point staying around here," he said. "I'm going to try to get back as quick as possible."
Outfielder Nelson Cruz (left hamstring strain), right-hander Dustin Nippert (head contusion) and infielder Cristian Guzman (strained right quad) also are on the DL and headed for minor league rehab stints.
All four could be playing for either Oklahoma City or Double-A Frisco by the weekend.
"Every team has gone through it," Washington said of the series of injuries to key players. "You've just got to keep fighting and hold it together. One thing that's good is our pitching staff has been doing a good job. We've got to start supporting them with some runs."
Lee's clutch hit makes Myers winner against Phils
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — So, what's the baseline?
Brett Myers threw seven sharp innings against his former team, Carlos Lee hit a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth and the Houston Astros took advantage of a controversial call to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 on Monday night.
The wild card-leading Phillies, who entered 2½ games behind Atlanta in the NL East, lost for just the sixth time in their last 30 home games.
Down 2-1, the Astros rallied in the eighth against Ryan Madson (4-2). Another pair of former Phillies got things started, helping Myers (9-7) win his first start against Philadelphia.
Pinch-hitter Jason Michaels led off the eighth with a single. Michael Bourn then reached on a drag bunt, barely avoiding Ryan Howard's diving tag and causing manager Charlie Manuel to get ejected by first-base umpire Greg Gibson.
With a sellout crowd chanting "Charlie! Charlie!" and second baseman Chase Utley pointing to the spot where Bourn appeared to step out of the baseline, Manuel got tossed for making his case. Utley, who rarely argues, then briefly exchanged words with Gibson.
After Angel Sanchez sacrificed the runners, Madson fanned Hunter Pence for the second out. But Lee lined a single to left to give the Astros a 3-2 lead.
Afterward, Manuel and some of his players were fuming that Bourn wasn't called out of the baseline. Making it worse, Gibson tossed Manuel from a game against Cleveland on June 24 for arguing a similar play the opposite way. Gibson called Shane Victorino out of the baseline as he dove into first base to avoid a tag.
"He went out of the baseline, but (Gibson) didn't see it that way," Manuel said.
When Gibson was asked for a comment by a pool reporter, crew chief Sam Holbrook said umpires are not allowed to talk per major league baseball's instructions. However, umpires have discussed controversial calls several times this season.
Howard said players have a difficult time understanding the baseline rule.
Rule 7.08 states: A runner's baseline is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely.
"They have to come up with some kind of consistency for the rule," Howard said. "Everybody isn't sure. There's a lot of gray area. There is no understanding."
Pitching in a steady drizzle, Myers gave up two runs and nine hits, striking out nine. Myers has pitched at least six innings in each of his 26 starts, tying Larry Dierker's franchise record. It's the longest streak to start a season since Curt Schilling had 35 straight in 2002.
Tim Byrdak pitched a scoreless eighth and Brandon Lyon finished for his seventh save in eight chances. Lyon retired Jimmy Rollins on a hard liner to left with the tying run on second to end it.
Phillies starter Joe Blanton allowed one run and six hits in seven innings, striking out a season-high nine batters.
Myers, who was Philadelphia's opening-day starter the previous three seasons, is one of five former Phillies on Houston's roster. He received a warm reception from fans.
"How respectful they were to me in the bullpen shows that this city has a big heart for players who accomplished things for them," Myers said. "They showed me respect."
A first-round pick in 1999, Myers had 73 wins and 21 saves in eight seasons in Philadelphia. He was 2-1 during the 2008 postseason, helping the Phillies win the World Series.
Carlos Ruiz hit a solo homer off Myers to tie it at 1 in the third. Blanton and Rollins followed with consecutive one-out singles. After Blanton was thrown out trying to score on Victorino's grounder to first, Utley's RBI single put the Phillies up 2-1.
Bourn started the game with a single, stole second, advanced to third on Sanchez's single and scored on Pence's sacrifice fly. Lee followed with a double to right-center. A perfect relay throw from Utley and excellent block at the plate by Ruiz prevented Sanchez from scoring on the hit.
The Astros are the only NL team with a winning record against the Phillies since 2004, going 27-16.
Notes: The Phillies added Hall of Fame pitcher Bruce Sutter to their minor league staff as a pitching consultant. Sutter had 300 career saves in a 12-year career with the Cubs, Cardinals and Braves. ... A crowd of 44,081 was the 104th straight sellout at Citizens Bank Park. ... Manuel has been tossed five times this year. ... Blanton is 4-1 since June 12, lowering his ERA from 7.28 to 5.32. He gave up another first-inning run, and has allowed 20 in 21 starts this season. ... Philadelphia's Jayson Werth was picked off second base after ball four of an intentional walk to Ruiz.
-- Rob Maaddi
