Rangers Beat White Sox
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ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers must be feeling better now that starting pitcher Colby Lewis is feeling well again.
Lewis, who missed all of last season after surgeries on his hip and elbow, earned his first win in more than 20 months as Texas defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-3 on Saturday night at Globe Life Park.
Meanwhile, the White Sox are left looking for answers in the midst of a four-game skid. In two games against the Rangers in the current series, White Sox starting pitchers have given up 15 runs, while the White Sox offense managed one run on Rangers starters.
Rangers manager Ron Washington cautiously pulled Lewis from the game with one out and two runners on in the top of the sixth. To that point, Lewis had given up one run on six hits and struck out four — needing 85 pitches to do so.
It was enough, though, for Lewis to win his first game since June 17, 2012, and help the Rangers win their fifth straight.
“I threw 85 pitches and I felt like every one was a lot more productive than I threw in rehab, when 60 out of the 85 were good,” Lewis said.
Lewis indicated he felt he could have gone deeper than the sixth inning. However, Washington explained that with two on and White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn coming to bat, the manager wanted to have a fresh, hard-throwing lefty pitch to Dunn.
Washington called on lefty Aaron Poreda, who got Dunn to fly
out to center.
“Right there we had a lead in the game and Dunn coming up — a dangerous hitter,” Washington said. “I just didn’t want a mistake to happen.”
Five Rangers relief pitchers combined to hold the White Sox to two runs in the final 3 2/3. Texas closer Joakim Soria pitched the ninth to earn his third save of the season, then Soria gave the game ball to Lewis.
“I always want to go deep in games,” Lewis said. “But they came in and locked it down.”?
White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez came to the plate in the eighth with his last chance to extend his hitting streak to 22 games, but he grounded into a double play to end Chicago’s best threat to get back into the game.
Ramirez had hit in all 17 games so far this season, a White Sox record for a season-opening hitting streak — he also had hit in the final four games of last season.
“He was hot,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “He was swinging and hitting stuff hard even last night. Eventually those things come to an end. Someone like him, he’ll start one again tomorrow.”
First baseman Prince Fielder gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth with a home run to right, then the rest of the Texas lineup took the cue.
The Rangers kept hurting Chicago with the bottom of the order. A night after center fielder Leonys Martin and catcher Robinson Chirinos went 6-for-10 in the eight and nine spots, Rangers second baseman Josh Wilson produced a key hit from the nine hole in the fourth.
With runners on second and third, Wilson singled to left to drive in left fielder Michael Choice and Chirinos.
Designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo kept the fourth-inning rally going with a double to right to score Wilson, boosting the Rangers lead to 5-1.
