[外電] Hamilton ready to return to Rangers
Hamilton ready to return to Rangers
Texas (17-14) vs. Seattle (16-16), 7:05 p.m. CT
By Patrick Mooney / Special to MLB.com
05/10/09 9:50 PM ET
CHICAGO -- Josh Hamilton is returning to a team that is clicking. His last
Major League at-bat came on April 26, a night when the Rangers fell two games
below the .500 mark. His team has missed him, but only to a certain point.
Hamilton played six innings in center field on Sunday for Triple-A Oklahoma
City in Round Rock, Texas. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored as
part of his two-game rehab assignment. After nursing a strained muscle in his
left ribcage, the All-Star outfielder is eligible to come off the disabled
list for the beginning of a three-game series against the Mariners.
"It felt good today," Hamilton said on Sunday. "I slipped in the outfield
[during the sixth inning] and landed on my ribs and didn't feel a thing. I'll
see how it feels tomorrow, but I'm planning on playing nine innings here on
Monday and then [being] ready to go for the Rangers on Tuesday night."
Hamilton is expected to slide into the No. 3 spot, behind Michael Young,
assuming the third baseman's back improves.
"It's great. I don't care where I hit. I just love hitting in a lineup where
it's filled with good hitters," Young said. "It makes everybody better. We
all feed off each other. There's guys on base when you hit. You're doing
everything you can to get on base for the guys behind you. [It] gets the line
moving."
The Rangers have won nine of their last 13 games, weathering Hamilton's
absence with some strong starting pitching. But they still can use him.
"A player of his caliber, [arguably] one of the best players in the American
League," outfielder David Murphy said, "[he'll] step in [and] help us
defensively. He's gonna drive in runs. He's gonna do exactly what he did last
year [and] help us to win games every single night."
Pitching matchup
TEX: RHP Scott Feldman (2-0, 5.79 ERA)
Feldman is 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA in three starts, and opponents are hitting
.186 off him as a starter. They hit .355 off him as a reliever. He beat the
Athletics, 4-2, on Wednesday night by holding them to two runs in six
innings. He is 8-8 with a 4.98 ERA in 28 career starts, going back to last
season. Of those, 14 have been quality starts, and he is 6-2 with a 2.82 ERA
in those games. He has a career 2.57 ERA against the Mariners.
SEA: LHP Jason Vargas (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
A start that originally was supposed to go to right-hander Carlos Silva
instead goes to Vargas, who will make his first Major League start since
2007, when he was with the Mets. Silva is on the 15-day disabled list with
inflammation in his right shoulder. Vargas has worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings
of relief since being promoted from Triple-A Tacoma on May 2. He brought with
him from Tacoma an 11 2/3-innings scoreless streak.
Tidbits
On Sunday, Vicente Padilla became the first pitcher in Rangers history to
allow one hit in back-to-back starts, regardless of the length of those
starts. Going back to 1954, Padilla is just the eighth pitcher to allow one
or zero hits in consecutive starts while throwing at least seven innings in
each outing. The last to do it was Freddy Garcia of the White Sox in
September 2006.
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