Rangers Rout Tigers Again
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DETROIT — The Texas Rangers are off to a good start as they go through the rest of their season minus the big bat of first baseman Prince Fielder.
“We’ve got to continue to play baseball,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said Sunday after his team demolished the Detroit Tigers, 12-4, to win its third game of the four-game series. “We had guys in the lineup even with Prince Fielder who were trying to find themselves.”
Right fielder Alex Rios and first baseman Mitch Moreland stepped up Sunday, with three RBIs apiece and Colby Lewis was effectively wild in his 5 2/3 innings as Texas jumped on right-hander Justin Verlander, who also struggled with his control for a second straight start.
Only 67 of Lewis’ 108 pitches went for strikes, but none of his five walks crossed the plate and he gave up just four singles and a double. Lewis (4-3) struck out two.
Left-hander Robbie Ross pitched 2 2/3 innings and right-hander Joakim Soria got the last two outs for Texas.
Verlander (5-4) threw 109 pitches in his 5 1/3 innings but gave up 11 hits for the
second start in a row, with 62 going for strikes. He walked three again and only has three strikeouts in his last two outings.
“When you’re in and out of the zone,” Tigers’ catcher Alex Avila said, “and then you have to go back in, you’re going to get hit.”
Verlander spent most of last season tinkering with his mechanics in order to gain some kind of consistency and now he’s at it again as the Tigers have negated a six-game winning streak by losing six of seven.
“I’m not going to sit back and throw balls all over the place,” he said. “I’m not going to stay where I’m at.”
He gave up RBI singles to Moreland and third baseman Adrian Beltre, a two-run triple to Rios and an RBI single to catcher Robinson Chirinos that put the Rangers ahead, 8-2, in the fifth.
He was chased with one out in the sixth when Beltre walked following an RBI double by Moreland, a play called a foul ball that was overturned on replay.
Rios had an RBI first-inning infield single and left fielder Michael Choice hit the first pitch of the second inning for his third home, breaking a 1-1 tie. Verlander let a run in with a wild throw to first on a sacrifice bunt by second baseman Rougned Odor following a double by Chirinos.
“They’re going good,” Washington said of his middle-order hitters. “And when they’re going good, it takes the pressure off the bottom of the lineup.”
Texas won four of its last five, a streak begun before the club got the news Fielder was scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday to fuse two neck bones, sidelining him for the year.
“We’re not going to dream of replacing Prince Fielder,” Washington said. “We miss Prince. Hopefully we can get some consistency going.”
Left fielder Rajai Davis singled in the first for the Tigers, stole second, was balked to third and came home on a fielder’s choice groundout by first baseman Victor Martinez.
Detroit got runs in the first two innings on an RBI single by shortstop Andrew Romine and a fielder’s choice groundout by Martinez with Davis on third in the first. Right fielder Torii Hunter had an RBI single and center fielder Austin Jackson drove in another run with a forceout at second, both in the seventh.
Texas got add-on RBI singles from shortstop Elvis Andrus, Moreland and Beltre in the seventh.
