Rangers-Indians: Ian Kinsler and Michael Young Extend Hitting Streaks

Tuesday nights game was suppose to feature Vicente Padilla and Jake Westbrook, but a family issue back home in Nicaragua has put Padilla on the bereavement list and Westbrook returned back to the DL.

Instead, A.J. Murray and Tom Mastny made spot starts for their teams.

Murray worked his way through 2.1 innings, allowing only one run, before having to leave the game with a left rotator-cuff injury.

Mastny did not perform as well; the Rangers hitters hit him early and often. In the first inning, Ian Kinsler lead off with a single, extending his hitting streak to 18 games.

Two batters later, Josh Hamilton teed-off on an 0-2 pitch to deep, left-center field, it was his 17th home run and upped his RBI total to 67. Milton Bradley followed with back-to-back homers, Bradley's 10th of the season.

The Rangers weren't done. David Murphy hit his AL-leading 20th double, followed by a Brandon Boggs's RBI single.

In the second inning, Hamilton received his first intentional walk of the season, with one out and a runner at second. This cost the Indians when Bradley was walked on four pitches and Murphy singled in a run.

Ben Francisco cut into the five-run deficit with a RBI single in the third, but Texas quickly got the run back when Jarrod Saltalamacchia cranked his third home run of the season.

A throwing error by Kinsler in the fourth scored Franklyn Gutierrez, bringing the score to 6-2 Rangers.

A sacrifice fly by Kinsler in the 5th scored Salty, then a two-out double by Michael Young scored Ramon Vazquez.

Young's double extended his hitting streak to 19 games, tying him with the Major League's longest of the season by Pittsburgh's Nate McLouth.

The Rangers added another run in the 6th inning when Murphy popped his seventh homer, leaving him just a triple away from the cycle.

The Rangers began to give the lead away when struggling reliever Jamey Wright couldn't find the strike zone for the second time in three games. Cleveland took advantage of this with RBI single from Jhonny Peralta and a two-RBI double from Shin-Soo Choo.

The Indians brought the score to 9-6 with a Ryan Garko ground out in the 8th scoring Jamey Carroll.

However the Ranger bats would answer back in the bottom half of the 8th inning. Bradley hit his second home run of the game, his 11th of the season and second solo of the game. Murphy, in attempt to triple for the cycle, recorded a single, giving him a 4-4 day at the plate.

Murphy would score on an infield single by Frank Catalanotto, who would reach second on an error. Salty followed this by singling to center, scoring Catalanotto.

Choo got his first home run of the season in the ninth for the final run scored in a 12-7 Rangers victory.

The win brought the Rangers back to a .500 record (30-30). Murphy highlighted the Ranger hitters with four hits, three runs, two RBI, a home run, and a double. Bradley recorded his first multi-HR game of the season, and catcher Saltalamacchia went 3-3, two runs, two RBI, two walks, and a solo home run.

The Rangers and Indians play game three of a four-game series tonight at 7:05 PM CST, when aces Sidney Ponson (4-1) and Cliff Lee (8-1) faceoff.