GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: LA ANGELS (92-65) at TEXAS (73-84)

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">LA ANGELS (1) VS TEXAS (3) - FINAL

LA ANGELS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Figgins 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .339
O Cabrera ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .303
J Rivera dh 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .257
T Murphy pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
G Matthews Jr cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .252
H Kendrick 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .324
R Quinlan 1b 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 .243
a-K Morales ph-1b 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .294
E Aybar lf 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 .235
J Mathis c 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 .214
b-C Kotchman ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .297
M Napoli c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246
R Willits rf 3 0 2 0 0 1 0 .297

Totals 32 1 7 1 1 6 14

a-popped out to second for R Quinlan in the 7th; b-grounded to first for J
Mathis in the 7th.

BATTING: HR - E Aybar (1, 5th inning off A Murray 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - E Aybar
(17). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Figgins 1, G Matthews Jr 1, C
Kotchman 1. GIDP - H Kendrick. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: SB - R Willits (27, 2nd base off A Murray/J Saltalamacchia), H
Kendrick (5, 2nd base off J Wright/J Saltalamacchia).

FIELDING: E - D Moseley (1, throw). Outfield assists - R Willits (D Murphy at
2nd base). DP: 1 (H Kendrick-O Cabrera-R Quinlan).


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Catalanotto 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
N Cruz rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
I Kinsler 2b 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 .268
M Young ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .312
M Byrd cf 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .310
H Blalock dh 4 1 1 1 0 0 3 .296
J Botts lf 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .230
B Wilkerson 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .233
D Murphy rf-lf 3 0 2 1 0 1 1 .366
J Saltalamacchia c 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .245
R Vazquez 3b 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .233

Totals 31 3 9 2 1 7 9

BATTING: RBI - H Blalock (30), D Murphy (13). 2-out RBI - D Murphy. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - H Blalock 1, M Young 1, D Murphy 1. GIDP - J
Saltalamacchia. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: SB - I Kinsler (23, 2nd base off D Moseley/J Mathis), H Blalock
(4, 2nd base off S Shields/J Mathis).

FIELDING: E - J Saltalamacchia (10, throw). Outfield assists - D Murphy (R
Willits at 1st base). DP: 2 (D Murphy-F Catalanotto, R Vazquez-I Kinsler-F
Catalanotto).


----------------------------------------------------
LA ANGELS - 000 010 000 -- 1
TEXAS - 000 003 00x -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

LA ANGELS ip h r er bb so hr era
D Moseley 4 4 0 0 1 3 0 4.40
D Oliver (L, 3-1) 1 1/3 3 3 3 0 2 0 3.66
S Shields 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.79
C Bootcheck 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.68

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
A Murray 5 5 1 1 1 4 1 4.50
J Wright (W, 4-5) 4 2 0 0 0 2 0 3.62

WP - D Moseley 2. BALK - D Oliver. Pitches-strikes: D Moseley 62-37; D Oliver
32-20; S Shields 18-13; C Bootcheck 13-8; A Murray 73-45; J Wright 56-41.
Ground balls-fly balls: D Moseley 3-6; D Oliver 2-0; S Shields 2-0; C Bootcheck
1-2; A Murray 6-4; J Wright 8-2. Batters faced: D Moseley 16; D Oliver 7; S
Shields 5; C Bootcheck 4; A Murray 19; J Wright 14.

UMPIRES: HP--Jeff Nelson. 1B--Jim Wolf. 2B--Tim Tschida. 3B--Jim Joyce.

T--2:38. Att--30,708.
Weather: 90 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 5 mph, in
from center.</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
LA ANGELS 1
TEXAS 3 FINAL</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LA ANGELS (1) AT TEXAS (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LA ANGELS 5TH: R Quinlan struck out looking. E Aybar homered to left.
J Mathis struck out looking. R Willits singled to center. R Willits stole
second, R Willits safe at third on throwing error by catcher J Saltalamacchia.
C Figgins flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) LA ANGELS 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 6TH: I Kinsler singled to left. M Young grounded out to shortstop,
I Kinsler to second. M Byrd reached on infield single to third, I Kinsler to
third. I Kinsler scored, M Byrd to second on balk by D Oliver. H Blalock
singled to right, M Byrd scored. S Shields relieved D Oliver. J Botts struck
out swinging. H Blalock stole second. D Murphy singled to right, H Blalock
scored advancing on play. D Murphy out stretching at second. (3 Runs, 4 Hits,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, TEXAS 3.</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LA ANGELS (1) AT TEXAS (3) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

La Angels Starting Lineups -- C Figgins 3B, O Cabrera SS, J Rivera DH,
G Matthews Jr CF, H Kendrick 2B, R Quinlan 1B, E Aybar LF, J Mathis C,
R Willits RF, D Moseley RHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- F Catalanotto 1B, I Kinsler 2B, M Young SS, M Byrd CF,
H Blalock DH, J Botts LF, D Murphy RF, J Saltalamacchia C, R Vazquez 3B,
A Murray LHP.

Umpires -- Jeff Nelson (HP), Jim Wolf (1B), Tim Tschida (2B), Jim Joyce (3B).


Gametime Weather: 90 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind in from center at 5 mph.


LA ANGELS 1ST: C Figgins walked. O Cabrera grounded into fielder's choice
to second, C Figgins out at second. J Rivera grounded out to shortstop,
O Cabrera to second. G Matthews Jr grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: F Catalanotto popped out to second. I Kinsler singled to left.
I Kinsler stole second. I Kinsler safe at third on throwing error by pitcher
D Moseley. M Young walked. M Byrd lined out to third. H Blalock popped out to
shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 0.

LA ANGELS 2ND: H Kendrick lined out to right. R Quinlan singled to left.
E Aybar grounded into fielder's choice to second, R Quinlan out at second.
J Mathis struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 2ND: J Botts grounded out to second. D Murphy singled to right.
J Saltalamacchia grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first,
D Murphy out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 0.

LA ANGELS 3RD: R Willits singled to left. C Figgins struck out swinging.
O Cabrera flied into double play, right to first, R Willits doubled off
first.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 3RD: R Vazquez struck out looking. F Catalanotto flied out to left.
I Kinsler singled to left. I Kinsler to second on wild pitch by D Moseley.
M Young struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 0.

LA ANGELS 4TH: J Rivera singled to deep left. G Matthews Jr flied out to
right. H Kendrick grounded into double play, third to second to first,
J Rivera out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 4TH: M Byrd flied out to right. H Blalock lined out to center.
J Botts singled to right. J Botts to second on wild pitch by D Moseley. D Murphy
struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 0.

LA ANGELS 5TH: R Quinlan struck out looking. E Aybar homered to left.
J Mathis struck out looking. R Willits singled to center. R Willits stole
second, R Willits safe at third on throwing error by catcher J Saltalamacchia.
C Figgins flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) LA ANGELS 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 5TH: D Oliver relieved D Moseley. J Saltalamacchia struck out
swinging. R Vazquez struck out swinging. F Catalanotto grounded out to
second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, TEXAS 0.

LA ANGELS 6TH: J Wright relieved A Murray. O Cabrera grounded out to
second. J Rivera grounded out to second. G Matthews Jr grounded out to
second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 6TH: I Kinsler singled to left. M Young grounded out to shortstop,
I Kinsler to second. M Byrd reached on infield single to third, I Kinsler to
third. I Kinsler scored, M Byrd to second on balk by D Oliver. H Blalock
singled to right, M Byrd scored. S Shields relieved D Oliver. J Botts struck
out swinging. H Blalock stole second. D Murphy singled to right, H Blalock
scored advancing on play, D Murphy out stretching at second. (3 Runs, 4 Hits,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, TEXAS 3.

LA ANGELS 7TH: H Kendrick reached on infield single to third. K Morales
hit for R Quinlan. H Kendrick stole second. K Morales popped out to second.
E Aybar grounded out to pitcher, H Kendrick to third. C Kotchman hit for
J Mathis. C Kotchman grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1,
TEXAS 3.

TEXAS 7TH: K Morales at first base. M Napoli catching. J Saltalamacchia
struck out looking. R Vazquez grounded out to second. F Catalanotto grounded
out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, TEXAS 3.

LA ANGELS 8TH: B Wilkerson at first base. N Cruz in right field. D Murphy
in left field. R Willits struck out looking. C Figgins flied out to left.
O Cabrera grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, TEXAS 3.

TEXAS 8TH: C Bootcheck relieved S Shields. I Kinsler flied out to center.
M Young grounded out to second. M Byrd reached on infield single to shortstop.
H Blalock flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, TEXAS 3.

LA ANGELS 9TH: J Rivera singled to center. T Murphy ran for J Rivera.
G Matthews Jr grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, T Murphy out at second.
H Kendrick struck out swinging. K Morales grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, TEXAS 3.</div>

 

Murray, Wright leads Rangers past Angels

<h3>TEXAS 3, LA ANGELS 1</h3>By John Tranchina
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- As the Texas Rangers get a look attheir young players during the late part of the 2007 season, thereseems to be a lot to look forward to.


Some of those possible building blocks were on display Tuesdaynight as Ian Kinsler had three hits and a run scored and rookiepitcher A.J. Murray threw five strong innings as the Rangersdefeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 3-1.


David Murphy added two hits and an RBI for the Rangers, who havewon their last four meetings with the Angels this season.

The Angels (92-66) have now lost four of five and failed toimprove their chances of getting the best record in the AmericanLeague. Anaheim is 1 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox(93-64) and the Cleveland Indians (92-63), who play at Seattlelater Tuesday night.


Jamey Wright (4-5) pitched the final four innings, allowing onlytwo hits to earn the win. The veteran righthander, who washelped by a three-run sixth inning by the Rangers offense, didnot walk a batter and struck out two for his first win sinceJuly 16.


It marked the second straight night that the Rangers used apitcher making his first major league start, and both times theteam has come out victorious.


Murray scattered five hits and gave up just one run in his fiveinnings. The lefthander struck out four with just one walk.

The 25-year-old, who has also made 12 appearances in relief thisseason, fared even better than Armando Galarraga did on Mondaynight. Galarraga had a no-hitter through four innings, butsurrendered five runs before getting pulled in the fifth.

Trailing, 1-0, the Rangers pulled ahead with three runs in thesixth against reliever Darren Oliver. They were awarded thefirst run when Oliver balked with Kinsler, who led off theinning with his third single of the game on third base. RBIsingles by Hank Blalock and Murphy brought home two more runs,giving Texas a 3-1 lead.


Oliver (3-1) had gone 13 1/3 innings over 10 outings withoutallowing a run before giving up the three in just 1 1/3 innings.

Angels starter Dustin Moseley, making his first start sinceAugust 20, hadn't pitched since allowing Jim Thome's 500thcareer home run in Chicago on September 16. The righthander wason a limited pitch count, throwing four scoreless innings. Heallowed just four hits while walking one and striking out three.

Rookie Erick Aybar snapped a scoreless tie in the fifth inningwith his first major league home run. The blast over the leftfield wall also broke an 0-for-18 hitless drought for theutility player, who was playing in his 111th game of the seasonand had 222 at-bats before his homer.

 

Murray, Wright leads Rangers past Angels

<h3>TEXAS 3, LA ANGELS 1</h3>By John Tranchina
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- As the Texas Rangers get a lookat their young players during the late part of the 2007 season,there seems to be a lot to look forward to.


Some of those possible building blocks were on display Tuesdaynight as Ian Kinsler had three hits and a run scored and rookiepitcher A.J. Murray threw five strong innings as the Rangersdefeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 3-1.


David Murphy added two hits and an RBI for the Rangers, who havewon their last four meetings with the Angels this season.

It marked the second straight night that the Rangers used apitcher making his first major league start, and both times theteam has come out victorious. Another rookie, Luis Mendoza,makes his second start Wednesday in the series finale.

"It shows that we're developing something at the higher levelsin our minor league system," Kinsler said of the influx ofrookie pitchers. "They're able to come up here and actuallyprove themselves, which is nice. It just gives us something tobuild on going into spring training, and to know that we havesomething going."


The Angels (92-66) have now lost four of five and failed toimprove their chances of getting the best record in the AmericanLeague. Anaheim is 1 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox(93-64) and the Cleveland Indians (92-63), who play at Seattlelater Tuesday night.


Jamey Wright (4-5) pitched the final four innings, allowing onlytwo hits to earn the win. The veteran righthander, who washelped by a three-run sixth inning by the Rangers offense, didnot walk a batter and struck out two for his first win sinceJuly 16.


"I'm just trying to finish strong in a place I'd like to be nextyear," Wright said. "I felt good, I felt like I had command ofthe zone, trying to pound the strike zone and not be out therefor 80 pitches in four innings."


"You can't say enough about what Jamey Wright did, coming in andpicking it up and finishing it off," Rangers manager RonWashington said. "He's been awesome. He's backed off hisfastball, letting his sinker work, and he's getting tons ofground balls."


Murray scattered five hits and gave up just one run in his fiveinnings. The lefthander struck out four with just one walk.

"Facing the Angels, I was a little nervous coming into thegame," Murray admitted. "But as I got out there and as the gamewent along, I settled down and just made my pitches. I went outthere and just attacked the strike zone, kept the ball down andmade them hit the ball on the ground."


The 25-year-old Murray, who has also made 12 appearances inrelief this season, fared even better than Armando Galarraga didon Monday night. Galarraga had a no-hitter through fourinnings, but surrendered five runs before getting pulled in thefifth.


"They went out there and they did what you'd like to see, justthrow the ball in the strike zone and usually good thingshappen, and that's what those kids did," Washington said.

Trailing, 1-0, the Rangers pulled ahead with three runs in thesixth against reliever Darren Oliver. They were awarded thefirst run when Oliver balked with Kinsler, who led off theinning with his third single of the game on third base.Run-scoring singles by Hank Blalock and Murphy brought home twomore runs, giving Texas a 3-1 lead.


Oliver (3-1) had gone 13 1/3 innings over 10 outings withoutallowing a run before giving up the three in just 1 1/3 innings.

Angels starter Dustin Moseley, making his first start sinceAugust 20, hadn't pitched since allowing Jim Thome's 500thcareer home run in Chicago on September 16. The righthander wason a limited pitch count, throwing four scoreless innings. Heallowed just four hits while walking one and striking out three.

"I thought Mose got into a nice groove," Angels manager MikeScioscia said. "He mixed his changeup and breaking balls. Hepitched a terrific game."


Rookie Erick Aybar snapped a scoreless tie in the fifth inningwith his first major league home run. The blast over the leftfield wall also broke an 0-for-18 hitless drought for theutility player, who was playing in his 111th game of the seasonand had 222 at-bats before his homer.