Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Texas Rangers 10, Cleveland Indians 0
The Texas Rangers completed the sweep Wednesday afternoon, soundly thrashing the Cleveland Indians 10-0 in Cleveland. It was the Rangers' first road sweep of Cleveland since 1992, and improved Texas, who is 8-1 against the Indians this year, to 79-60.
Photo not provided by the Texas Rangers
The Rangers completed the sweep with class and dignity
With the win, the Rangers at least keep pace in their two playoff races. Texas is currently two games behind the Boston Red Sox for the wild card, and four and a half games behind the LA Angels for first place in the AL West.
Rangers starter and unlikely Cy Young candidate Scott Feldman was the hero in this one, shutting out the Indians for seven strong innings. Feldman allowed five harmless singles and a pair of walks while striking out five, and improved to 16-4 on the season with a 3.46 ERA.
It was Feldman's eighth straight road win and 12th overall, both club records and tops in the American League this season. In his last four starts during Texas' crunch run, Feldman is 4-0 with a 0.34 ERA, allowing just one earned run.
The Rangers' offense came in two bunches, scoring five runs in the top of the first to set the stage, and five more in the top of the ninth to finish Cleveland off. Esteban German went 5-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored hitting at the bottom of the order, while Marlon Byrd continued his Cleveland-killing ways with a 2-for-5 performance, driving in four runs on the strength of a three-run home run in the first inning.
Ivan Rodriguez was also stellar, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a home run, while rookie phenom Elvis Andrus went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and one driven in.
Posted by Todd M.
