Wednesday, July 9, 2008 , Updated
Texas Rangers 3, LA Angels 2
ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers continued to rely heavily on their youth movement Tuesday night, defeating the All Star-laden Angels 3-2 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The win improves the Rangers to 47-44, as they continue to surge above .500.
The win rested largely on the shoulders of a few Texas rookies. Rangers starter Matt Harrison, making his major league debut, threw seven solid innings and gave up just two runs and five hits. Harrison walked one and struck out one, and dominated the potent Angels lineup for long stretches of the game.
Closer C.J. Wilson pitched a tense but scoreless ninth for his 22nd save of the season.
Another Texas rookie, Chris Davis, continued to tear up the league with his fourth home run in four home starts, a one-run, two-out shot in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 2-2. Josh Hamilton provided the rest, with a sacrifice fly in the first and singling in the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth. Hamilton now has 87 RBI, clearly leading the major leagues.
Leadoff hitter Ian Kinsler also had a great game, going 1-for-4 with a double to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 20 games. Kinsler also scored the game-winning run off Hamilton's single, his league-leading 81st run, nearly 20 ahead of his nearest competitor in the AL.
Posted by Todd M.
