(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Hunter, on the other hand, went 6.1 innings, allowing only one run on three hits and striking out five. After Hunter, the Rangers bullpen of Jason Jennings, CJ Wilson, and Francisco pitched 3.2 innings of hitless, shutout baseball.
Saturday: W, 12-4 (44-35)
Both teams prized pitching possessions took to the mound in Holland and David Price. Holland was again a little shaking giving up seven hits and two long balls, but he threw 56 of his 92 pitches for strikes, went six innings, and allowed only four runs.
Price on the other hand never saw the end of the second inning. He was blasted for six runs on only three hits, but walked five Ranger batters in only 1.1 innings of work. Texas would eventually score seven runs by the end of the third, highlighted by a first inning three-run shot by Andruw Jones.
Jones lead all Ranger hitters going 2-5, one home run, and four RBI. Young also had a good night batting 2-5, scoring twice, and knocking in three runs. Cruz also recorded his team-leading 20th home run of the season in the fifth inning.
The Rangers' offense scored 12 times on 14 hits, five doubles, one triple, and two home runs. They also went a combined 6-15 with runners in scoring position.
Sunday: W, 5-2 (45-35)
In a crazy Sunday, the day started off with Josh Hamilton finding out that he was voted the starting center fielder in the All-Star Game by the fans. Young also made the team as a back-up. But the biggest snubs came when it was announced that Kinsler and Millwood did not make the team. Kinsler still has a chance as he is one of five players that can be voted in by the fans as the 33rd spot on the team.
After that the Rangers took to the field for the Sunday Night Game on ESPN. Texas improved their Sunday night ESPN record to 2-0, as they beat the White Sox earlier in the season.
Texas offense got started early in this one scoring in each of the first four innings. More impressively this win was done without the use of the long ball, Texas scored three times on sacrifice flies.
Three and four hitters Murphy and Byrd highlighted this with a combined 4-5, BB, 3 RBI, and 2 sacrifice flies.
Feldman had another solid outing, going six innings and allowing two runs (one earned). At times he was a little shaky as he walked four Rays, allowed a double steal that lead to both runs, and needed 105 pitches to go six innings.
With the win, Feldman tied his career high with seven wins, the Rangers swept the AL defending champs, and they also tied the Angels atop the AL West.
The final piece of news came later as the Rangers announced with the activation of Hamilton for the series in Los Angeles and Seattle, they would be demoting the season-long slumping Chris Davis.
The Rangers take to Los Angeles tonight for a three-game series against the Angels, followed by four games in Seattle before the All-Star break.
With this five-game winning streak, the Rangers have pulled back to a tie with the Angels (45-35), the Mariners trail both teams by 3.5 at (42-39), and the A’s are all but written off at (34-46)—a total of 11 games back.
The Rangers need a good showing from the offense, continued success from the pitching, and a healthy Josh Hamilton to close out the first part of the season on a winning note before making a run for the division in the second half of the season.
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